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Stubborn (Hartnäckig)

Vasily Kandinsky

European Art

On View:
Through an arrangement of glowing lines and colorful shapes, Vasily Kandinsky hints at a figure planted between the sun and the moon. He theorized that geometric forms could express specific forces or emotions. In his pictorial vocabulary, the circle suggests equilibrium and the spiritual realm, whereas triangles stand for more active or aggressive feelings.

This painting was made in Germany, where the artist had moved in 1921 to teach at the Bauhaus school of art and design.
MEDIUM Oil on paperboard
  • Place Made: Europe
  • DATES 1929
    DIMENSIONS 27 3/4 × 19 1/8 in. (70.5 × 48.6 cm) frame: 37 1/4 × 28 3/4 × 2 in. (94.6 × 73 × 5.1 cm)  (show scale)
    SIGNATURE Monogrammed and dated lower left: "VK/29"
    COLLECTIONS European Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 1992.107.19
    CREDIT LINE Bequest of William K. Jacobs, Jr.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Vasily Kandinsky (Moscow, Russia, 1866 – 1944, Neuilly–sur–Seine, France). Stubborn (Hartnäckig), 1929. Oil on paperboard, 27 3/4 × 19 1/8 in. (70.5 × 48.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of William K. Jacobs, Jr., 1992.107.19. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1992.107.19_PS11.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 1992.107.19_PS11.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2022
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