The Jack of Diamonds

From the beginning of the 1900s until World War I, Kandinsky, while living in Germany, regularly traveled to Russia — to Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Odessa. He was keenly interested in the cultural process, took an active part in artistic life and exhibited his works at various exhibitions. Above all, he was drawn to artists and associations that, like him, were engaged in searching for new means and forms of expression.

At the end of 1910 the Moscow public was literally shaken by the exhibition of "Jack of Diamonds". The scandalous name of the event was proposed by one of its organizers, Mikhail Larionov. "The Jack of Diamonds" carried connotations of criminal slang, and this is already the name of the caused irritation among the older generation of masters and the conservative public. They met the exhibition with hostility. The contemporaries called it the "exhibition of madness", the first "slap in the face of public taste." In stark contrast to the academic art prevailing at the time, as well as the later symbolism, "The Jack of Diamonds" sought to demonstrate a simple "art for the people": deliberately vulgar, savagely energetic. This exhibition was the sign of the change of cultural codes. What the older masters considered marginal, hooligan, and unacceptable - was put on display for public discussion. Kandinsky was among the criticized participants. He presented four of his "Improvisations" to the public. Although his works did not fit the general style of the exhibition - woodcuts, deliberately simple, but they were consistent with the spirit of venture - the search for new means of artistic expression in contrast to the existing laws.

M. Voloshin, who visited the exhibition, wrote: "The sad fruits of the Kandinsky’s bitter theorizing, as he makes a heroic attempt to eliminate from his paintings all 'objectivity' and establish a line of 'carpet' without ornaments, " it is curious that from any point of view nothing can be understood, despite a sincere desire to solve these charades. But on these 'carpets,' these dry lines, reminiscent of a broken band of iron flying out during a train crash, do not look like anything." Another indignant review of Kandinsky came from the critic P. Ivanovsky in the newspaper "Early Morning." - "Here is W. Kandinsky — the audience and fellow artists remember, of course, his bold, brightly colored paintings, his graceful posters. This painter was in them. Then... then there came "it"... and I, standing for ten minutes in front of these 'Improvisations,' nothing, absolutely nothing, understood. Someone from behind me said: "In the left corner of the painting, it seems, seeing a human face! …. And are as if feet to the right?" Once again, I looked closely at the 'Improvisation.' No. No face, no feet. There is nothing. Tell me, is it not terrible?"

In January 1912, several organizers of the exhibition established the artistic association "The Jack of Diamonds" and Kandinsky became a full member alongside David Burliuk, Konchalovsky, Lentulov, Mashkov, Rozhdestvensky, and others. In addition, Mashkov asked Kandinsky to attract German artists to the association, where they, as he thought, would be interesting for the "The Jack of Diamonds". At the exhibition "The Jack of Diamonds" in the same year, Kandinsky presented six of his works, including – "George I", "Concert" and sketch for "Composition V". On December 18, 1912 there was one more significant event in the cultural life: the publication of a collection of poetry and the Cubo-Futurist manifesto "Slap in the face of public taste". The text of the manifesto was written by David Burliuk, V. Khlebnikov, V. Mayakovsky, and A. Kruchenykh. Among the authors of that collection was a name of Wassily Kandinsky. However, his four poems were included in a the book without his knowledge or consent. Kandinsky hastened to publish a public disclaimer in the press. He also distanced himself from the Manifesto.

In May 1913, Kandinsky left the association, stating in a letter to G. Walden, "he disliked the situation and atmosphere of exhibitions, lectures". In general, participation of Kandinsky in this association was rather formal. His "First Abstract Watercolor" had already been painted in 1910 and he was on a direct path to the discovery of abstract painting. He chose to move forward rather than engage in explaining to critics of all kinds how to "solve charades" where there were none. In 1916, Mashkov and Konchalovsky left the association, and the leadership was taken over by representatives of a more radical approach to art, headed by Kazimir Malevich. The last exhibition of "The Jack of Diamonds" was held in 1917, which is considered the last year of the association's existence.