Poids monté Wassily Kandinsky

• An outstanding example of Kandinsky’s late work, full of dynamism and elegance • A captivating combination of organic, gentle forms and the established canon of abstract forms • Kandinsky’s works from this period represent the quintessence of his artistic development spanning several decades Following the definitive closure of the Bauhaus in 1933, Kandinsky left Germany and moved with his wife Nina to Neuilly-sur-Seine near Paris. Kandinsky, now almost 70 years old, found it difficult to gain a foothold in France, where abstract art received little recognition in a Paris dominated by Cubism and Surrealism. Yet even during this final decade of his life in exile in Paris, and despite the far from easy external circumstances, Kandinsky retained his joy in experimentation and the quest for innovation, continually exploring the complex layers of his art anew. He worked with an enormous creative drive, producing a body of late work characterised by great poetry and clarity. In the 1930s, Kandinsky took an interest in the emerging field of molecular biology, as evidenced by a collection of newspaper cuttings on the subject that the artist kept. Another source of inspiration for his new formal aesthetic was presumably Ernst Heinrich Haeckel’s book *Art Forms in Nature*, containing over 100 plates, which was first published in its complete edition in 1904. Many of the forms found in Kandinsky’s late work from the final decade of his life resemble the tiny micro-organisms and deep-sea organisms depicted therein. The numerous and varied biomorphic forms now emerging in Kandinsky’s works represent a clear departure from the linear-geometric compositions of his Bauhaus years. The painting *Poids monté* was created in early 1935, and in it Kandinsky combines the two formal languages so characteristic of his work: the abstract-linear and the biomorphic. The linear elements, shimmering in silvery grey and arranged diagonally across the canvas, provide both space and support for the deep-red organic form. The light background, iridescent in shades of grey, green and blue, lends the entire composition a floating lightness. Kandinsky reinforces this desire for a light, floating expression through his choice of the title ‘Poids monté’ – ‘Increased Weight’. Kandinsky’s titles have always been an important part of his works. He always chooses them in the language of the country in which he paints them, and enters them into his handwritten list once the work is complete. Almost all the titles from his French period consist of two words: a noun followed by an adjective; rarely are there three words, or even just one. Kandinsky’s titles are never whimsical, like those of the Surrealists, but rather plain, serious and straightforward. At times, they are paradoxical titles that reveal his penchant for opposites and contradictions, such as incompatible emotions, contrasting colours or antonyms, which he expresses through two words placed side by side. Yet the lively, poetic quality of these short titles is always rooted in the paintings themselves. Kandinsky may well have found inspiration for the painting ‘Poids monté’ in the countless small tidal pools along the Normandy coast, where he had spent his holiday just a few months earlier, in the summer of 1934. In a letter to the art historian Will Grohmann, he describes the tiny marine life forms in vivid detail: ‘(…) I have stored up many impressions and hope to work well. The ebb and flow of the tide here is particularly beautiful. At low tide, the ocean recedes by about 400–450 metres, and one can then walk on the seabed and see, in small puddles and in the wet sand, the life of the almost microscopic creatures. The mussels burrow into the sand and you stamp them out with your feet. The creatures inside are eaten alive here. I, too, opened up one such pretty mussel (Gôutez, M. c’est très bon!) and a long, soft, thin horn emerged menacingly. Yuck – yuck! The shells themselves are mostly simple in shape, but marvellous. Their colour palette is similarly limited, yet the variations are splendid. We’ve started a small collection. – That menacing horn seemed to say to me: ‘Don’t eat me – learn from me!’ Which is exactly what I’m doing." (Letter dated 28 August 1934). | 1866 Moskau - Neuilly-sur-Seine 1944 | Moderne Kunst | Gemälde | Nummer: 26x2286 | Provenance: Emile Redon, Paris; Galerie Motte, Genf 15.10.1960, Los 212; Galerie Tarica, Paris; Davlyn Gallery, New York; Christie’s, New York 15.5.1979, Los 60; Galleria Internazionale, Mailand, 1984; E. J. Wisselingh & Co., Amsterdam; Privatsammlung, Japan; Internationale Privatsammlung.

Schätzpreis:960.000€

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