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Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle) by Wassily Kandinsky

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Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle) does not have an open access image available. You can see it online by clicking the placeholder or this link: https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.56670.html

Today’s painting was a real challenge to describe! It’s by Wassily Kandinsky, a Russian artist who was one of the pioneers of abstract art. We’ll find out how the Apocalypse, Monet, Matisse and music all came together to influence this work.

And we’ll find out how Kandinksy’s philosophy behind the Improvisation paintings made him an early advocate for long looking!

SHOW NOTES (TRANSCRIPT)

“A Long Look” theme is “Ascension” by Ron Gelinas youtu.be/jGEdNSNkZoo

Episode theme is “Symphony No.40 in G minor, K.550 – III. Minuetto allegretto” composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Performed by Das Orchester Tsumugi. Courtesy of musopen.org
https://musopen.org/music/1577-symphony-no-40-in-g-minor-k-550

Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle) information
https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.56670.html

Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle) audio
https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.56670.html#relatedpages

Wassily Kandinsky, Improvisation No. 31 (Sea Battle) by the National Gallery of Art, 1979?

Wassily Kandinsky, Life and Work, by Will Grohmann. Published by New York, H. N. Abrams, 1958

Monet’s “Haystacks” at Art Institute Chicago
https://www.artic.edu/collection?artist_ids=Claude%20Monet

RECOMMENDED READING
Concerning the Spiritual in Art by Wassily Kandinsky


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