Black Spot (Schwarzer Fleck) (plate, folio 33) from Klänge (Sounds)

Black Spot (Schwarzer Fleck) (plate, folio 33) from Klänge (Sounds) by Vasily Kandinsky is a crucial graphic work produced in the pivotal year of 1913. This piece is a woodcut, designed as an individual plate (folio 33) within Kandinsky's experimental illustrated book, Klänge (Sounds). The publication contained fifty-six distinct woodcuts and established Kandinsky's reputation not only as a pioneer of abstract painting but also as a master of modern printmaking.

Although the artist was Russian, the work’s historical circulation and its production during the height of early European Modernism firmly roots it within the era's transnational artistic exchanges. Klänge was published in Munich but was instantly influential across the Continent, reflecting the rapidly developing aesthetic movements of the time. This particular print exemplifies Kandinsky's push toward total abstraction, utilizing the severe, contrasting forms defined by the woodcut medium itself. Kandinsky employed stark black and white contrasts, allowing the textural density and inherent limitations of the technique to contribute to the overall visual dynamism.

The composition is centered around the heavy, irregular form that lends the work its title. Unlike his contemporaneous oil paintings, which often used lush color to convey emotion, Black Spot (Schwarzer Fleck) relies entirely on the powerful interplay of angular and linear elements carved deeply into the wood. The aggressive application of abstract shapes and the lack of traditional representation demonstrates Kandinsky's profound belief that art should communicate the inner, spiritual 'sound' of forms, independent of external reality. As a key component of the early exploration of non-objective art, this historic illustrated book remains preserved in the prestigious collection of the Museum of Modern Art, ensuring its availability for study alongside other major prints and works created during the critical 1913 period.