On the Spiritual in Art

Vasily Vasilyevich Kandinsky (1866-1944) is one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. His work and philosophical writings largely defined the face of a new understanding of visual art. In fact, the history of modern abstract painting begins with Kandinsky's "Abstract Watercolor" (1910). His main programmatic work - the book "On the Spiritual in Art" - was written by Kandinsky in 1910 in Munich in German. The book did not immediately find its publisher - it seemed so unusual for its time. But when the book was published, and three editions of it came out one after another, it was spoken of as a new Gospel in the life of art. Russian artists became acquainted with this programmatic publication in 1911 at their congress. The ideas of the book had a significant influence on all advanced Russian artists, including K. Malevich.