WASSILY hotsell KANDINSKY (Russian, 1866-1944), "Orientalisches", 1975, photo-relief

Image size: 4.9 X 7.5 inch. Photorelief reproduction of the color woodcut executed in 1911 for the suite "Klange (Sounds)" published in 1913, signed in the block with the monogram. Catalog raisonne reference: Roethel 10; Davis-Rifkind 1368:7. This impression is one of 2000 or so prints printed for the special issue of "XXe Siecle" - "Hommage a Wassily Kandinky" - San Lazzaro, Ed., Paris, 1975, printed on fine-grained, cream wove paper, 12.4 X 9.4 inch sheet. Mint condition. Free shipping to US address.
(734156 bx-57)


Note:
Although this image looks very much like the 1938 original, it varies significantly and can easily be discerned even by non-professionals. The differences are: 1) the 1975 image is placed low (3.2 inches from the top of the sheet) on the page, whereas the 1938 image is placed high (1.5 inches from the top of the page); 2) there are color variations between the 1938 original and the 1975 reproduction, primarily with the 1975 image using a dark brownish-green whereas the 1938 uses violet; and 3) the 1938 printing clearly shows the wood grain mottling in the inking (seen most notably in the red ink). There are also numerous registration differences. Often the 1975 reproduction is misrepresented as the 1938 original by naive or unscrupulous dealers and online scammers. Caveat emptor!

Note:
Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) holds a vital place in the history of modern art as a founder member of the groundbreaking Blue Rider group (der Blaue Reiter) and the progenitor of pure abstraction in painting.

Kandinsky first hotsell began to create woodcuts in 1902 during his involvement with the Munich-based arts association Phalanx. The woodcut technique played a particularly key role in his artistic development throughout the next decade as the flattened perspective and simplification of form inherent to the medium proved essential to Kandinsky's evolution towards abstraction.

Between 1911 and 1912, Kandinsky created six woodcuts for "Klänge (Sounds)" Kandinsky's seminal musical album of woodcuts and poetry published in 1913. Seen as a group these six works clearly reveal Kandinsky's progression away from representation and towards expressive abstraction with a focus on balance of form and color.

Later in life Kandinsky believed that his early woodcuts held a deep importance for a true understanding of his work and deserved to be better known. Thus he decided to produce a second edition of six of his finest woodcuts from the earlier Blaue Reiter period. These were printed in Paris in 1938 under Kandinsky's supervision and issued with the prestigious French art review "XXe Siècle".