Cubism & Early Abstraction · 1913

Composition VI

Wassily Kandinsky 1866–1944

Composition VI (1913) by Wassily Kandinsky. Its palette is led by graphite (#473e3d, 18%) and bone (#cdceb9, 17%), with accents of stone, muted azure teal, light orange and red. Overall the canvas is light, moderately saturated and warm.

Color note

Kandinsky tied colors to sounds and emotions: in Concerning the Spiritual in Art (1911) he likens yellow to a blaring trumpet and deep blue to a pull toward the spiritual. He later taught color and form at the Bauhaus.

Palette

#473e3d MG 218 graphite 17.6% of canvas
#cdceb9 MG 171 bone 17.0% of canvas
#371e17 MG 219 bistre 15.3% of canvas
#666454 MG 175 stone 15.1% of canvas
#699194 MG 081 muted azure teal 10.5% of canvas
#b78d60 MG 029 light orange 9.9% of canvas
#e3cc96 MG 036 pale gold 8.8% of canvas
#a1554c MG 018 red 5.7% of canvas

Color families

Brown 39%, Gray 14%, Blue 9%, White 9%, Green 8%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.56
Contrast: 0.64
Vividness: 0.047
Warmth: +0.65
Complexity: 250 cells
Hue range: 0.82
Focus: 0.04

Composition

52% of the visual weight is in the right half, 52% in the lower half. Symmetry 0.27 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 1% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 38% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1913
Medium: Oil on canvas
Size: 195.0 × 300.0 cm
Collection: Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg

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