On the Spiritual in Art by Wassily Kandinsky, 1946 [Hilla Rebay, Guggenheim]

On the Spiritual in Art by Wassily Kandinsky, 1946, 4th printing. Edited by Hilla Rebay. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation for the Museum of Non-Objective Painting, New York City, USA. 7.125 x 9.25, pp. 154. Printed by the Gallery Press, New York with (4) full color reproductions, (10) black and white woodcuts, and (21) halftones.

This is the first complete English translation of Kandinsky’s 1911 seminal work; Über das Geistige in der Kunst, which “sparked widespread interest in abstraction in the years leading up to World War I. The book, which he claimed had been gestating for nearly a decade, elucidated his artistic theories and his valuing of expression and spirituality over naturalistic representation. It also introduced his new pictorial categories derived from the field of music—impressions, improvisations, and compositions—which further de-emphasized the importance of recognizable subject matter.” (MoMA)

With a Foreword to the 1st original edition; the 2nd original edition; and this 1946 New York edition. In two sections: A. GENERAL (Introduction, The Movement, The Spiritual Turning-point, The Pyramid); B. PAINTING (The Effect of Color, The Language of Form and Color, Theory, Art and Artists). The book concludes with a survey of forty years of Kandinsky’s artistic evolution, excellent public comments left by visitors of the museum and a list of full page illustrations.

A nearly fine illustrated hardcover black cloth with gilt-lettering and Kandinsky’s 1913 “Black Lines”, tipped-in as full color; among the first of his truly nonobjective paintings. A hint of wear and light toning on early pages. Our favorite English edition of this seminal book; recommended!