Fugue (1914)  by Wassily Kandinsky

Fugue

1914

Oil on canvas

51 × 51" (129.5 × 129.5 cm)

Basel. Beyeler Foundation

As you know, fugue is a musical form and compositional technique of polyphony. It is based on the sequential repetition or imitation of the main theme in different melodically independent voices. This painting is probably an attempt by Kandinsky to create a visual equivalent of the polyphonic form. Individual shapes and colors overlap, appearing in one place of the canvas to respond with variations in another. A single plastic idea "runs" from one place to another, just as a musical theme in a fugue moves from voice to voice. The color accents resonate with each other. Kandinsky goes further - he imitates the very nature of the plastic gesture. Energetic. An explosive motif in one place finds a response in another similar motif. Smooth and fluid — rhymes with the like. The result is a complex but harmonious visual polyphony.

The painting sold at Sotheby's in 1990 for $20.9 million.

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