Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle) 1913

Editor: So, this is Wassily Kandinsky's "Improvisation 31 (Sea Battle)," painted in 1913 using oil paint. It's quite a burst of color and chaotic energy. Honestly, at first glance, it looks more like an explosion than a sea battle. What stands out to you when you look at it? Curator: I'm struck by how Kandinsky uses recognizable symbols—what appears to be ships, the suggestion of waves—to evoke a deeper emotional response. Note the sharp, angular forms alongside the fluid, rounded shapes. What kind of emotional undercurrent do these shapes convey to you? Editor: The angular forms definitely create tension, like clashing forces, while the rounded shapes...maybe a sense of underlying turmoil or perhaps the vastness of the sea? It is evocative. Curator: Exactly! And consider the colours. Kandinsky often spoke about the spirituality of colour, assigning specific feelings and sounds to each hue. How do the colours in this painting speak to that spirituality? Are there harmonies or clashes, concordances or dissonances? Editor: There’s a lot of dissonance! The bright reds and yellows juxtaposed with blues and blacks feel jarring, uneasy. As if the spirituality is… troubled, conflicted. Curator: Indeed. Kandinsky painted this on the eve of World War I. I would ask you to explore his premonition, perhaps drawing on historical or literary memory and visual records. Are there other symbols or memories here that suggest the cultural anxiety, a culture at war with itself? Editor: I hadn't considered the pre-war context so explicitly. Thinking of it that way, the "sea battle" seems less literal and more symbolic of the broader societal conflicts about to erupt. Thanks, this gives a whole new perspective to my experience! Curator: The visual symbols and color carry a lot of meaning, inviting us to engage with our historical awareness and collective anxiety, ultimately, to question whether these “sea battles” ever cease.