St. George III 1911

Here is Kandinsky’s St. George III, made with oil paint. The brushstrokes are loose, almost scribbled, like he was in a real hurry to get these colours down. The palette is a playful mix of pastels and bold primaries, with these thick black lines wrestling the whole thing into place. It’s like a kindergarten classroom after finger-painting day, but with this edgy, nervous energy. I’m especially drawn to the big blob of yellow melting into orange at the bottom. It feels like a face, or maybe a sunrise. Either way, it’s grounded and solid, even as the rest of the painting seems to be floating away. Kandinsky, like Picasso, always had one foot in the figurative world, even as he was kicking open the doors to abstraction. It’s like he’s saying, “Yeah, I can paint a saint, but I’d rather show you what a feeling looks like."