Houses at Murnau 1909

Editor: Okay, so this is "Houses at Murnau" painted by Wassily Kandinsky in 1909, using oil on canvas. The colors really jump out – the yellows and blues especially. There's something almost childlike about the simplicity, yet also, a bit unsettling. What do you see in this piece? Art Historian: Unsettling, you say? That's a marvelous instinct. To me, it’s as though Kandinsky is painting a feeling rather than just a scene. Think of Fauvism; they also experimented with arbitrary colour. Look at that hillside – it is like a vibrating, pulsating entity. The colours are intense, joyful but also disorienting as they clash. He's pulling us into the internal landscape. Do you feel that tension too? Editor: Absolutely. The houses almost feel like they are about to slide off the hill. Was Kandinsky intentionally trying to evoke this feeling? Art Historian: Intention is a tricky word. He was moving towards abstraction at this time, trying to unlock something deeper than surface appearances. Maybe it’s about how we perceive the world; a mix of order and inherent instability? Like how a memory feels – vivid, distorted and fragmented. Have you read "Concerning the Spiritual in Art"? Editor: I have! The synesthesia… right? Art Historian: Exactly! He believed that color could evoke specific emotions. It's less about accurately representing the houses, and more about orchestrating a symphony of feelings. Almost as though he believed there’s more truth to emotion than accuracy in shape? What if it isn’t “Houses at Murnau”, but it is joy vibrating near danger, at Murnau. What a thought, no? Editor: I never considered it that way! It almost feels like… emotional architecture. Thank you. Art Historian: It is an absolute privilege to consider art with another creative person. I will have to carry *emotional architecture* with me.