A collection of early modern and modern prints that demonstrates the range of techniques and print media

13 Items in this Learning Collection
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object
Collection Object

Copyright
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Small Worlds III

Accession Number
1948/1.62

Title
Small Worlds III

Artist(s)
Wassily Kandinsky

Artist Nationality
Russian (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
1922

Medium & Support
lithograph on paper

Dimensions
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 Line
Museum Purchase

Label copy
Wassily 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 matter
Small 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 Description
Within 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 Classification
Print

Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
Abstract (fine arts style)
Expressionism
biomorphic abstraction
color lithographs
color theory
emotion
modern and contemporary art

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& Author Notes

All Rights Reserved