Composition VI

Vasily Kandinsky (1866-1944), was a Russian artist who painted "Composition VI" in 1913. This work is oil on canvas, with the dimensions 76¾ × 118⅛ in (195 × 300 cm). It is now located in the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia. When looking at this painting, you can see the different scenes and objects, but it is still very abstract. This was the goal the artist was trying to portray. [1]

Composition VI (1913) by Wassily Kandinsky

Kandinsky spent time in Russia which was a bulk of his inspiration for Composition VI . He went to school for law, but decided to turn down a job offer in that field and pursue art. He was motivated and inspired by previous works of art. He compared art to music, in that the way you can feel the emotion through music, you can also feel through art. He was said to have a rare form of neurological connections between color and music. When he would see certain colors, he would hear certain notes and vice versa.  The original idea for this work was to paint a flood, however Kandinsky felt bound by the rules and social norms of art, and did not like that. He didn't want the viewer to only see the painting, but hear and feel it on a spiritual level. He used certain combinations of colors and color patterns to create a sense of feeling. [2]

The result of 24 studies, it took the painter eight months to complete the painting. He wanted to depict a flood, a baptism and the theme of destruction and rebirth. The flood is based off the biblical story of Noah’s ark, because Kandinsky wanted to bring reform to religious aspects during this time.  [3]His assistant, Gabriele Münter - with whom he had a professional and personal relationship between 1902 and 1916 - advised him to break free from the initial outline and think about the German word 'Überflut' (flood) and the acoustic sensations it suggested to him. Kandinsky finished the painting within three days of that suggestion, intoning the word 'uberflut' for those whole three days.

Kandinsky originally had troubles getting started on this painting. He stated that he was seeing it more as a single event or image at first, where what he really wanted to do was create an image that created more of a sense of sound. [4] This was a piece that he wanted to really cause the viewer to feel instead of just look at for visual pleasure. [5]

Composition VI was the artist's main entry for the Erster Deutscher Herbstsalon (First German Autumn Salon), organized in 1913 in Berlin by Herwarth Walden, alongside painters such as August Macke and Franz Marc.[6]