Name: Delicate Tension No. 85 by Wassily Kandinsky - Canvas Giclée Print
SKU: 6738
Availability: InStock

Russian painter and art theorist Wassily Kandinsky is credited as the pioneer of abstract modern art. His notion that only total abstraction could offer profound and transcendental expression had a strong impact on the international development of abstraction. Contrary he believed copying from nature would interfere with this process. Kandinsky’s mature pictorial language as seen in “Delicate Tension No. 85“, only loosely related to the outside world, and instead expressed the artist’s inner experience.

Where is the picture “Delicate Tension No. 85” today?

The Kandinsky original of the picture “Delicate Tension No. 85” (“Zarte Spannung”) is on permanent display as part of the collection of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid.

What’s in it?

Intersecting lines, circles, triangles, half-circles, and dots of different colours, hues, and shades painted with great precision populate the composition of “Delicate Tension No. 85” (“Zarte Spannung”). Although reminiscent of a boat with a colourful sail buffeted by the wind, the canvas is deliberately abstract and dominated solely by form and structure. Kandinsky aimed at bringing out the original force of colour and composition without the distraction of mapping of object effect, capturing the spiritual quality of life represented by the tension of colour and geometric graphic form, as he expressed in his writings.

What’s the context?

Wassily KandinskyWassily (Vasily) Kandinsky (1866 – 1944) is known as one of the pioneers of abstract modern art. He was born in in Moscow to upper-class parents of mixed ethnic origins. At an early age, Kandinsky showed a rare sensitivity towards music and the arts, which his father strongly supported. Kandinsky decided to study law, ethnography, and economics, and started successfully More – BauhausThe Bauhaus movement originated as a German school of the arts in the early 20th century. Founded by German architect Walter Gropius in 1919, the school was dedicated to uniting all branches of the arts under one roof. The Bauhaus acted as a hub for Europe's most experimental creatives, with well-known artist instructors like Wassily Kandinsky, Josef Albers, and Paul More:
The picture belongs to a large series of watercolours with imaginative titles created from 1922 till 1923, including the famous painting by Wassily KandinskyWassily (Vasily) Kandinsky (1866 – 1944) is known as one of the pioneers of abstract modern art. He was born in in Moscow to upper-class parents of mixed ethnic origins. At an early age, Kandinsky showed a rare sensitivity towards music and the arts, which his father strongly supported. Kandinsky decided to study law, ethnography, and economics, and started successfully More “On White II”. In 1922, Kandinsky had accepted a teaching position at the German BauhausThe Bauhaus movement originated as a German school of the arts in the early 20th century. Founded by German architect Walter Gropius in 1919, the school was dedicated to uniting all branches of the arts under one roof. The Bauhaus acted as a hub for Europe's most experimental creatives, with well-known artist instructors like Wassily Kandinsky, Josef Albers, and Paul More, the state-sponsored Weimar school of art and applied design, which had been founded in 1919 by architect Walter Gropius. The BauhausThe Bauhaus movement originated as a German school of the arts in the early 20th century. Founded by German architect Walter Gropius in 1919, the school was dedicated to uniting all branches of the arts under one roof. The Bauhaus acted as a hub for Europe's most experimental creatives, with well-known artist instructors like Wassily Kandinsky, Josef Albers, and Paul More upheld the concept that crafts were to be considered equal to traditional arts and was organized according to a medieval-style guild system training under the guidance of masters. Kandinsky taught at the three locations of the school in Weimar, Dessau, and Berlin until 1933, when the BauhausThe Bauhaus movement originated as a German school of the arts in the early 20th century. Founded by German architect Walter Gropius in 1919, the school was dedicated to uniting all branches of the arts under one roof. The Bauhaus acted as a hub for Europe's most experimental creatives, with well-known artist instructors like Wassily Kandinsky, Josef Albers, and Paul More was forced to close due to pressure from the German Nazi government.

Chatter and Prattle

Kandinsky’s embrace of modernist abstract artAbstract artworks diverge from depicting recognizable scenes or objects and instead use colors, forms, and lines to create compositions that exist independently of visual references from the natural world. This movement, which gained momentum in the early 20th century, was propelled by artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, and Kazimir Malevich. These artists aimed to explore spiritual, emotional, and More landed him a prominent position in the Nazis’ “Degenerate Art” (“Entartete Kunst”) exhibition, which featured 650 works of art deemed anathema to the regime’s totalitarian values. The show included works by numerous artists of international acclaim, including Paul Klee, Max Beckmann, Emil Nolde, and Oskar Kokoschka. The exhibition catalogue explained the aim of the show being to “reveal the philosophical, political, racial and moral goals and intentions behind this movement and the driving forces of corruption which follow them.”
The German Nazis claimed that degenerate art was the product of Bolsheviks and Jews, even if only six of the 112 artists featured in the show were Jewish.
One exhibition hall featured entirely abstract paintings, among them Kandinsky’s paintings, and was labelled the “Insanity Room”.

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Recommended Reading:

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Michael Kerrigan (2015): Wassily Kandinsky Masterpieces of Art

Helmut Friedel et al. (2016): Vasily Kandinsky

Kenneth C. Lindsay et al. (1994): Kandinsky: Complete Writings On Art

Your Print

Your Wassily KandinskyWassily (Vasily) Kandinsky (1866 – 1944) is known as one of the pioneers of abstract modern art. He was born in in Moscow to upper-class parents of mixed ethnic origins. At an early age, Kandinsky showed a rare sensitivity towards music and the arts, which his father strongly supported. Kandinsky decided to study law, ethnography, and economics, and started successfully More artist print on canvas “Delicate Tension No. 85” is part of the “Masterpiece Series” at Pigment Pool.
Set the tone of your room featuring your art print as an individual picture or mix and match more of your favourite art prints in an awe-inspiring artists gallery wall showcasing your unique style.
We use professional Giclée HD wall art colours on durable, high-quality cotton canvas with a weight of 280 gsm for your “Delicate Tension No. 85” print. The canvas art is UV and water-resistant. Archival, fade-resistant pigment inks will let you enjoy the brilliant colours year after year.
A frame is not included to have your Wassily KandinskyWassily (Vasily) Kandinsky (1866 – 1944) is known as one of the pioneers of abstract modern art. He was born in in Moscow to upper-class parents of mixed ethnic origins. At an early age, Kandinsky showed a rare sensitivity towards music and the arts, which his father strongly supported. Kandinsky decided to study law, ethnography, and economics, and started successfully More canvas art posters safely arrive at your home. 6 cm of white canvas is added on all sides of the picture (additionally to the picture size indicated), to make framing easy. Exact sizing may vary slightly due to the printing process, we advise waiting with buying frames until the prints have arrived.
Contact us to get a 6 % discount if you buy 3 or more pictures of the Masterpiece Series.