A theology of abstraction: Wassily Kandinsky’s ‘Concerning the Spiritual in Art’
On the hundredth anniversary of the first abstract painting of modern times, the rationale for abstract art offered by a pioneer of the genre, Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944), in his book Concerning the Spiritual in Art (1911), is critically examined. The principal influences on his art and thought ar...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2011
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| In: |
Theology
Year: 2011, Volume: 114, Issue: 1, Pages: 32-41 |
| Further subjects: | B
synaesthesia
B ‘Concerning the Spiritual in Art’ (1911) B Abstract art B Kandinsky B Wassily (1866–1944) B Modernism B art and spirituality |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | On the hundredth anniversary of the first abstract painting of modern times, the rationale for abstract art offered by a pioneer of the genre, Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944), in his book Concerning the Spiritual in Art (1911), is critically examined. The principal influences on his art and thought are discussed; in particular, what Kandinsky intended by the word ‘spiritual’. Theories about Kandinsky’s possible synaesthesia are reviewed and the historical context of his world-view adumbrated. Finally, the article offers a preliminary sketch as to what an ‘abstract’ theology (had theologians of the day followed Kandinsky’s lead) might have looked like. |
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| ISSN: | 2044-2696 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0040571X10387346 |
