Which signs and imagery appear in Wassily Kandinsky’s late paintings?
During his final years in Paris, Wassily Kandinsky developed a unique visual language that synthesized the organic style of his Munich period with the geometric precision of his Bauhaus years. Rather than purely abstract, he referred to these late works as "concrete" art.1
The imagery in these paintings is characterized by collections of signs that resemble nearly decipherable messages, often appearing as pictographs or hieroglyphs. Specific recurring motifs include:1
- Biological forms: Many of the signs resemble aquatic larvae.1
- Figurative elements: Occasionally, the compositions incorporate a human hand or a lunar-like human face.1
These works reflect Kandinsky’s late-career focus on the "symbolic character of physical substances," a concept he explored in his writing to challenge the limitations of modern scientific positivism. Notable examples from this period include Violet Dominant, Dominant Curve, Fifteen, Moderation, and Tempered Élan.1