Concerning the Spiritual—and the Concrete—in Kandinsky’s Art / Lisa Florman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Florman, Lisa Carol, Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Art--Philosophy.

Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, -- 1770-1831. -- Ästhetik.

Kandinsky, Wassily, -- 1866-1944--Criticism and interpretation.

Painting, Modern--20th century.

Painting, Abstract--Philosophy--20th century.

Painting, Abstract.

Painting, Modern.

Art.

Aesthetics.

Local Subjects:

Art--Philosophy.

Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, -- 1770-1831. -- Ästhetik.

Kandinsky, Wassily, -- 1866-1944--Criticism and interpretation.

Painting, Modern--20th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (281 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Stanford, CA : Stanford University Press, [2020]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book examines the art and writings of Wassily Kandinsky, who is widely regarded as one of the first artists to produce non-representational paintings. Crucial to an understanding of Kandinsky's intentions is On the Spiritual in Art, the celebrated essay he published in 1911. Where most scholars have taken its repeated references to "spirit" as signaling quasi-religious or mystical concerns, Florman argues instead that Kandinsky's primary frame of reference was G.W.F. Hegel's Aesthetics, in which art had similarly been presented as a vehicle for the developing self-consciousness of spirit (or Geist, in German). In addition to close readings of Kandinsky's writings, the book also includes a discussion of a 1936 essay on the artist's paintings written by his own nephew, philosopher Alexandre Kojève, the foremost Hegel scholar in France at that time. It also provides detailed analyses of individual paintings by Kandinsky, demonstrating how the development of his oeuvre challenges Hegel's views on modern art, yet operates in much the same manner as does Hegel's philosophical system. Through the work of a single, crucial artist, Florman presents a radical new account of why painting turned to abstraction in the early years of the twentieth century.

Contents:

Front matter

CONTENTS

Illustrations

Acknowledgments

INTRODUCTION

PART I—PAINTING IN THEORY

PART II—PAINTING IN PRACTICE

CONCLUSION

APPENDIX. ALEXANDRE KOJÈVE, “THE CONCRETE PAINTINGS OF KANDINSKY”

Abbreviations Used in the Notes

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Jul 2020)

ISBN:

9780804789233

0804789231

OCLC:

1178768799