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Vasily Kandinsky French, born Russia
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 910
In his influential treatise Concerning the Spiritual in Art, Kandinsky theorized a new form of artistic expression that would reject the materialist world in favor of emotional and spiritual ideals. Abstract forms and color symbolism would be used to evoke an inner, preconscious realm. Improvisation 27, composed of dark lines and colorful abstract masses, features three iterations of an embracing couple surrounded by serpentine forms. Kandinsky hints at the painting’s possible subject in the subtitle, Garden of Love II, likely a reference to biblical Eden.
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Artwork Details
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Title: Improvisation 27 (Garden of Love II)
Artist: Vasily Kandinsky (French (born Russia), Moscow 1866–1944 Neuilly-sur-Seine)
Date: 1912
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 47 3/8 × 55 1/4 in. (120.3 × 140.3 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1949
Accession Number: 49.70.1
Learn more about this artwork
Timeline of Art History
Essay
Alfred Stieglitz (1864-1946) and His Circle
Chronology
Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, 1900 A.D.-present
Museum Publications
Twentieth-Century Art: Selections from the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 1, Painting, 1905–1945
Stieglitz and His Artists: Matisse to O'Keeffe
One Met. Many Worlds.
Modern and Contemporary Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 8, Modern Europe
The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Masterpiece Paintings
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Spanish)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Russian)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Portuguese)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Korean)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Japanese)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Italian)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (German)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (French)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Chinese)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Arabic)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide
Masterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Making The Met, 1870–2020
Guide to The Metropolitan Museum of Art
A Concise Catalogue of the European Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Art = Discovering Infinite Connections in Art History
American Pastels in The Metropolitan Museum of Art
"The Alfred Stieglitz Collection": Metropolitan Museum Journal, v. 3 (1970)
20th-Century Art: A Resource for Educators
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Kleine Welten I (Small Worlds I)
Vasily Kandinsky (French (born Russia), Moscow 1866–1944 Neuilly-sur-Seine)
1922
Kleine Welten XI (Small Worlds XI)
Vasily Kandinsky (French (born Russia), Moscow 1866–1944 Neuilly-sur-Seine)
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Kleine Welten II (Small Worlds II)
Vasily Kandinsky (French (born Russia), Moscow 1866–1944 Neuilly-sur-Seine)
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Kleine Welten VI (Small Worlds VI)
Vasily Kandinsky (French (born Russia), Moscow 1866–1944 Neuilly-sur-Seine)
1922
Kleine Welten IX (Small Worlds IX)
Vasily Kandinsky (French (born Russia), Moscow 1866–1944 Neuilly-sur-Seine)
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