The career of Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1919), as it unfolds in a new retrospective at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, is like watching art history run backward. Its culmination -- the glowing colors and dynamic abstraction he made his own -- introduced a whole new visual vocabulary to Western art.
So what reactionary critic, then, issued the stern caution that, "If we begin at once to break the bonds which bind us to nature and devote ourselves exclusively to the combination of pure color and abstract form, we shall produce works which are mere decoration, suited to neckties or carpets"?
No critic, but, with biting irony, Kandinsky himself -- no doubt with uncomprehending critics in mind. Truth is, the artist spent his life striving to express natural beauty and complex truths. "Beauty of Form and Color is no sufficient aim by itself," concludes the passage quoted above.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.