Composition VII

Composition VII must be regarded as Kandinsky's pinnacle in terms of scale, amount of preparatory effort, complexity of ideas, subjective engagement, and, last but not least, as an objective graphic entity. It is without a doubt the pinnacle of his artistic accomplishments during his time in Munich. There are approximately fifteen variations of linked motifs in such diverse mediums as glass paintings, drawings, watercolors, woodcuts, and oils, excluding the sketches and studies for Composition VI (whose aspects of Deluge and Resurrection also figure in Composition VII). Eschatological ideas are at the center of each of these. We are aware of approximately thirty drawings and watercolors for Composition VII alone, some of which are in-depth studies that resemble those of the classic masters Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci with minuscule depictions of human body folds, foliage, or limbs. There are some pages that consistently repeat a single curving line up to 10 times; others display schematic sketches of the composition's essential structural components; still other sheets contain comprehensive instructions for priming the canvas.

Additionally, there are at least 10 substantial oil studies, some of which are difficult to place in Composition VII but which are all undoubtedly connected to it either by their inscriptions or by their morphological details. Miinter recorded in her diary on November 25, 1913, that Kandinsky had begun working that evening and that the canvas for Composition VII had arrived after dinner. The next morning she took the first photograph of the painting and in the afternoon the second one. Her diary entry on the 28th recorded that the painting had been completed. The following morning she took a photograph of the final state. The birth of a great masterpiece had to be recorded.

Location: Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia
Style: Abstract
Year: 1913