Accession Number1948/1.62
TitleSmall Worlds III
Artist(s)Wassily KandinskyArtist NationalityRussian (culture or style)Object Creation Date1922Medium & Supportlithograph on paperDimensions 14 in x 11 in (35.56 cm x 27.94 cm);10 15/16 in x 9 1/8 in (27.78 cm x 23.2 cm);13 9/16 in x 11 in (34.4 cm x 28 cm);19 5/16 in x 14 3/8 in (49 cm x 36.5 cm)
Credit LineMuseum PurchaseLabel copyWassily Kandinsky
Russia, 1866–1944
Small Worlds, III (Kleine Welten, III)
1922
Color lithograph
Museum purchase, 1948/1.62
(Flip Your Field: Abstract Art from the Collection, June 9 – September 2, 2012, text by Celeste Brusati)
Wassily Kandinsky
Russia, 1866–1944
Small Worlds, III (Kleine Welten, III)
1922
Color lithograph
Museum purchase, 1948/1.62
Subject matterSmall Worlds III is the third print in a portfolio of four that Kandinsky produced while teaching at the Bauhaus School in Germany. The portfolio was as much a study of printing as it was an exercise in color theory. The four prints in Kleine Welten were produced with three different techniques to highlight the various characteristics each possessed. Etching was chosen for its precision, woodcut for a study of perspective in foreground and background and texture, and lithography for its similarity to painting and flexibility in the use of colors and shapes. This print is a lithograph and makes use of a variety of overlapping colors that evoke a sense of an enclosed microcosm of emotions.
Physical DescriptionWithin a black background a white oval shape sits at center; within the oval are a series of abstracted forms and lines in primary colors all characteristic of Kandinsky's style.
Primary Object ClassificationPrintCollection AreaModern and ContemporaryRightsIf you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit
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Keywords
Abstract (fine arts style)
Expressionism
biomorphic abstraction
color lithographs
color theory
emotion
modern and contemporary art