1913

Squares with Concentric Circles (Farbstudie – Quadrate und konzentrische Ringe), perhaps Kandinsky's most recognizable work, is not actually a full-fledged painting. This drawing is a small study of how different color combinations are perceived, which the painter used as working material in his creative process.

For Kandinsky, color meant more than just a visual component of a picture. "Color is a means of exerting direct influence upon the soul. Color is the keyboard. The eye is the hammer. The soul is the piano, with its many strings," he wrote in his book Concerning the Spiritual in Art. He described his own perspective on how colors interacted with each other and with the spectator in detail and in very poetic terms. Moreover, Kandinsky was a synesthete, meaning he could "hear colors" and "see sounds". So, it is perhaps fitting that, over a century later, it is not one of his Compositions - which he himself considered his main achievements — but rather this small study that has become one of the most popular works on our site.

Incidentally, this 1913 study visually echoes Kandinsky's 1937 painting Thirty - though here it's an exploration of color, while there the focus is on form.

Dany: I adore wassily's concentric circles. I didn't realise it was this small. I first saw it on a calender and was determined to copy it hooking rug style for a wall hanging.Done in hand dyed skirting bought from charity shops. It actually only took me 3 weeks. It is such a talking point when I have visitors. Funnily enough I dont care for his compositions but adore the two circles pieces.

Preston: This is quite interesting; I find your use of concentric circles particularly captivating.

Goob from Majub: Quadrate und konzentrische Ringe
Appreciate the colors in combinations.
Also appreciate the strong reactions to this simple piece.
Good art can be provocative. As the Duchess said - Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Karen Kay: First - learning & developing.my artistic self. 50+ years ago in a calligraphy seminar the audience was asked what they thought of a picture of squares - a famous piece of art. The comments were mixed just like here. The speaker explained the power of the work lay in the fact that the world had NEVER seen this type of art - only portraits & landscapes. For me, Kandinsky’s work falls into the same category. It opens my eyes to new ideas and structures & color combos. Original, impactful and important.

Janet Page Andersen: I have always enjoyed this painting. At first I didn't know it was Kandinsky, then when I studied more of his art I was mesmerized by his color choices. So full of feeling!

CarlyB: I had a poster of this painting hanging in my dorm room at Northwestern University in 1975. I loved it. My roommate and I would sit staring at it trying to figure out what it meant

oscar du from new zealand: wassily kadinsky was a horrible artist i could do better

giru: the circles are nice and colorful

Martha: We are doing an art project in school, and so far, I have enjoyed it and it was inspired by this piece of art. So yeah,I dont really understand this, but I like it.

Lena H: This piece makes me happy.

mira: not an art fanatic, neither know a lot about art. This painting just makes my heart beat faster. I feel scared but somehow joyful when I look at it.

nolan : I like how all the circles are different, and i think they all stand for something different. i also like how he used his own ideas and put the in to a panting.

Nadia: first of all, to everyone who is saying things like "This is not art" or "A child did this" you are all fools. Art doesn't have to be detailed and mouth dropping. Art comes from the heart, not from other peoples opinions. like the original painter Kandinsky says "Everything starts with a dot." Art is amazing, and I know if it WAS a kid who did this, it would be a VERY different state of opinion.So, all in all, I love it. And if the creator sees this, don't give up on showing your side of life.

im mister carrot: i love his art its amazing

Luis Hernandez: Hi, I am not an art critic or educated eye, I only know what I like and what does not like... and this squares with cilindric concentric, really call my attention.
I want to comment that, on my interpretation, each square with each circle, means to me, different kind of souls representing with pure soul, and each external layer is how one person is, rough, kind, anger, etc. So with each square I can see many kind of persons.... I appretiate comments..

tessie: Like it, hate it, doesn't matter, someone just purchased this for $25 million.

Anne: For all those who do not understand the purpose of a "study" please do not undertake to judge the quick watercolor sketches/studies JMW Turner painted to catch a landscape.

Habibi: this is horrible. i could draw this in my sleep.
ABSOLUTE RUBISH. I would pay 1 rupee for this trash

Bob from kindle: Amazing art

Eamo lad legend : Its a color study not an intended finished piece, I don't like the appearance but you cannot deny his studies involving the literal fact he can HEAR colors,, of course hes gonna play with that.

joe: I have read the comments about this artist and I am sad that anyone would say this is childs art. Yes, it has a child like play yet the artist shares his reason and communicates through color. If you are wise and knowledgable about art you can find his reasoning through each painting. Ignorance is when someone speculates without investigation and not to understand this artist lets me think that the person doesn't know the color wheel. If you know the color wheel and you look at these studies you can see clearly that he has an agenda. He wanted to know how colors worked together and how they effected the eyes or a persons mood. He was a master of his art and brave to focus on just color and its effects. .

Julian: Why are people getting mad and insulting this man's art? His art is very unique and should not be treated poorly.

JENNY: this is a great website to study colours and learn about them too.

Carmelo: The important thing of this tipe a paintings is that they are made from within....... nothing else really matters....

Lilli: I like it. A lot. Haters just arent getting lost in the color theory and abstract magic of it all! I say to you

James: I don't understand but I like it.:o

James: This is rubbish, it doesn't make sense. I don't understand the liking in this.

Chloe: My favourite one!

erin: its funny how people are so mad at a color study

A schoolboy who has no public name: I am doing an artist study on Kandinsky and, to all the commenters who say "a child could do this" or something, I am a child and I appreciate this colour study. I am doing something that you don't seem to have done: realise that a) Kandinsky made this originally for private use so it is to some extent made to be messy and b) it is a colour study not a full piece of art. Maybe you should rethink your mindset.

chanya: All of the pictures make me feel joyfull.

Bralyn Wiswell: Love the different colors in the picture

Ted tong: I'm doing this for homeschooling coz of lockdown and it is really hard can someone tell me what tools and techniques he used.

Montarop Yamabhai: Hey I am the one who drew this picture! I copy from the original just for fun, then I think I posted in on my fb and many other places. Interesting that it is ended up here. Can you really make money out of it? Maybe I can have a new career out of this kind of art :).

sok linda vatanak: the circle make me feel happy

Addy maxwell: I absolutely love his art!



XOXO friends

Cath: Anyone saying this looks like a child did it needs to sit down and recreate just one of Kandinsky's squares with paint. I've been doing that with acrylic, and each square takes about an hour to finish. Until you try it, you have no idea how much goes into blending colors, shading and composition. Making things look simple/easy is one of the hallmarks of a real artist.

artist @ skool: i dont understand why you have to be mean. yea a child could have drawn a bunch of circles but its not just a bunch of circles and its still art and i think that its wonderful. goodbye xx

Frankie: His work is just amazing!

X: I absolutely adore this art. I am currently doing a project in art class to copy the style of him. I am not recreating one of his works. I’m going to be making a picture from his style.

mylan: all of u with the mean comments are brutal and ungreatful im only in 6th and i know better than to just sit down and commet on things i dont know how to do u people are lazy,selfish, and jelous.
periodic..

Caryn: What's wrong with art done by children? Using that as an insult is ridiculous.

someone gone unmentioned: this is beautiful but it hurts my eyes ;.;

Marijane Stomberg: This painting Kandinsky created to remind himself while painting of the relationship of the colors to one another and in so doing, he passed on to all his fans and observers a yardstick, a measurement, a guide to keep and learn from while creating art of our own. The painting, while it is beautiful, finds its greatest asset to be utilitarian. It is famous because the author was famous.

Karen: Saying a child could have done this is missing the point. Kandinsky did it for himself as a visual reference.

Imagine that when planning out her first book, J K Rowling wrote a list of Harry Potter's features eg black hair, glasses, and a list of adjectives. That list would probably sell for a fair bit of money, and be prized by its owner. To say "A child could have written that list" would be true but the list is special not because it's an amazing list in itself, but because it shows the inner mind workings of a master, who created something incredible.

If you hate this painting and think it is talentless then fair enough... Just don't ever go on a trip to a modern art gallery as you will see things far simpler than this.

Anyone COULD have done this -- but they didn't.

coolkid001: woah! thats some art right there! so many circles!
truly a revelation!
its like ive never seen a circle like this before!
woah!

bsllileieiih: He must have been a genius

Amy: I have read the comments about this artist and I am sad that anyone would say this is childs art. Yes, it has a child like play yet the artist shares his reason and communicates through color. If you are wise and knowledgable about art you can find his reasoning through each painting. Ignorance is when someone speculates without investigation and not to understand this artist lets me think that the person doesn't know the color wheel. If you know the color wheel and you look at these studies you can see clearly that he has an agenda. He wanted to know how colors worked together and how they effected the eyes or a persons mood. He was a master of his art and brave to focus on just color and its effects. .

Charlie: This is great art never seen anything like this!

potato: i dont like it to be honest. it is really simple and anyone can draw different coloured circles

Leone Brennan: I am completely drawn to this painting. Maybe because it is so childlike, but I just love the colours.

AR: Many people are commenting on the fact that a child could have done this. This is, to anyone with eyes, true however it is not for the aesthetics that this colour study is so famous, but for its significance. This study was an essential element of Kardinsky's creative process: and it gives us as those who still view his work today an interesting and unique insight into the head of such an incredible man.That is why it's famous.

SD: Terrible Painting, nothing that a kid can do an art project on. Study DaVinci instead.

Robert Paige: TOTAL WORK OF ART...6

Natalie: He is my favorite. His work is absolutely mind boggling to me.

Samanthalouise Nunn: great picture

D. E.: How about those of us with a great knowledge of art who realize that a child COULD have done this? It's a colour study. It is not a complete work. It is not a great composition, and was likely done on the fly. A sketch or doodle playing with colour. It is a simple study, done for himself. You or I or a child or anyone CAN do this exact same thing, and it will be just as valid and meaningful.
You may love the work, and you may instill your own meanings connected to it, but that doesn't make anyone else ignorant, or mean that their opinion is less valid. That's the beauty of art, it connects (or not) to each person on their own level. It is not yours (or mine) to define for others. If it is that to you? Then you're missing the point of art completely. And please don't try to teach children that it should mean whatever you see in it. Teach them how colors go together, sure, but don't ruin them by insisting things must be one way, or that their own work and experiments are any less valid than a color study by a dead guy with a name that you personally like. That would be offensive.
If a work has to be explained to be understood? Then the work itself fails. If you have to insist that a work has a certain meaning because you think it does? Then you fail.

Liza: I do wish people who have no knowledge of art would refrain from making stupid comments like, "a child could have done this." Educate yourselves people and if you don't have anything positive or enlightening to say then just don't.

Kandinsky was an amazing colourist. His compositions are simply inspired. Personally he is one of my favourite artists and I have referenced his work when teaching my primary and secondary school students so that they too can be inspired by a master.

Some body: This is NOT art, in my opinion. If I had to guess the age that someone drew this, I would say 7.

Justin Tanner from Latta: Why this is just circules ive got to do an art project on this

bob from kit: amazing art wish i had some of it

Tyler Jeffers from New Jersey: This looks like a 2 year old made this

Anastasia from Yugoslavia: breathtaking

lola garcia from mexico: what´s mean the colors and the figures to this picture?

MangaQueen02 from Luffyland: What is this art piec by Kandinsky called? Please help.

Morgan Mquire from Southampton: I agree with you adam i would love to create a piece like this

Adam Comber from Southampton: Like the use of harmonious colours within certain squares and contrast in others.

More from 1913

More from Munich, Lenbachhaus

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