Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle)

Kandinsky, Vassily

Improvisation

dc.creator	Kandinsky, Vassily	en_US
dc.date.accessioned	2007-11-02T17:46:37Z
dc.date.available	2007-11-02T17:46:37Z
dc.identifier	105139	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1721.3/22134	en_US
dc.description	The title "Improvisations" refers to a series of works that Kandinsky painted between 1909 and 1913 which was, according to the artist, "a largely unconscious, spontaneous expression of inner character, non-material nature." Although the amorphous shapes and colorful washes of paint in Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle) may at first appear entirely abstract, they form a number of recognizable images the artist invented to represent his often biblical subject matter. The central motif of Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle) is a pair of sailing ships locked in combat, their tall masts appearing as slender black lines. Cannons blast as the ships are tossed upon turbulent waves, and, at the upper left, a city of white towers appears on the verge of toppling. Kandinsky's subject, found in a number of the Improvisations, was probably inspired by the apocalyptic imagery of the Book of Revelations. Although this work was painted on the eve of the First World War, Kandinsky denied that his paintings referred to any specific war but rather to "a terrible struggle . . . going on in the spiritual atmosphere." Kandinsky, who fervently believed that humanity stood on the brink of a new spiritual era, avowed that art could help to sever human attachment to the material world and usher in the new age.	en_US
dc.description	full view	en_US
dc.format.extent	140.7 x 119.7 cm (55.39 x 47.13 inches)	en_US
dc.format.medium	oil paint	en_US
dc.format.medium	canvas	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	122272	en_US
dc.rights	(c)Davis Art Images	en_US
dc.subject	Battles	en_US
dc.subject	Boats and boating	en_US
dc.subject	Naval battles	en_US
dc.subject	Painting, Abstract	en_US
dc.subject	Abstraction	en_US
dc.subject	Color	en_US
dc.subject	Ships	en_US
dc.subject	Bible. N.T.	en_US
dc.subject	Expressionism (Art)	en_US
dc.title	Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle)	en_US
dc.title	Improvisation	en_US
dc.type	Image	en_US
dc.rights.access	Licensed for educational and research use by the MIT community only	en_US
dc.identifier.vendorcode	NGA-P0285	en_US
dc.publisher.institution	Repository: National Gallery of Art (Washington, District of Columbia, United States) ID: 1978.48.1	en_US
vra.culturalContext	Russian	en_US
vra.technique	painting (image-making)	en_US
vra.worktype	Oil painting	en_US
dc.contributor.display	painter: Vassily Kandinsky (French, 1866-1944)	en_US