Response to Wassily Kandinsky’s “Melodious” (1924)
This piece by Kandinsky perfectly shows many of the aspects of his painting we discussed in class. He focuses on shapes and colors for total abstraction, which he believed to be superior to representational art because of the stand alone nature of abstraction. Kandinsky thought that art could show a person’s soul through its unique qualities. This work shows many geometric shapes and lines, over a background of largely cream color, with sections of red and grey at the bottom and top to anchor the composition. The shapes are reminiscent of something musical, and the painting is both pleasing to the eye and detailed enough for lots of study. Seeing it in person was interesting, and while it did not change what I thought about the piece, it did show some colors in the painting I had not previously noticed.