Etching for Circle of Friends of the Bauhaus (Radierung für den Kreis der Freunde des Bauhauses)

Etching for Circle of Friends of the Bauhaus (Radierung für den Kreis der Freunde des Bauhauses) is a drypoint print created by Vasily Kandinsky in 1932. This abstract work was produced as a benefit for the Kreis der Freunde des Bauhauses (Circle of Friends of the Bauhaus), a crucial patronage society established to provide financial and political support to the beleaguered design school during its final years of operation in Germany.

The creation of this print in 1932 occurred at a moment of extreme political tension, shortly before the school was permanently closed by the National Socialists in 1933. Although the Bauhaus’s official function ceased, Kandinsky continued to explore the geometric abstraction he had perfected during his tenure as a master teacher there. His use of the drypoint medium allows for a richness in line quality; the pressure applied to the plate displaces metal, creating a delicate burr that yields soft, velvety black lines when inked. This method contrasts effectively with the crisp, hard-edged forms that dominate the composition.

Characteristic of Kandinsky’s prints from this era, the composition features a dynamic arrangement of floating biomorphic and geometric shapes interacting on the white page. While circles and arcs remain central motifs, they are interwoven with sharp diagonal lines and planar elements, suggesting deep spatial tension despite the flat nature of the graphic medium. This work exemplifies the artist’s commitment to pure visual expression, a commitment that remained undiminished even after he was forced to relocate.

Following the dissolution of the Bauhaus, Kandinsky moved to Paris, reflecting the broader movement of modernist artists escaping political oppression. Though executed in Germany, the cultural designation of French acknowledges the critical role he played in the Parisian avant-garde during the 1930s. This key graphic work, tied intrinsically to the historical narrative of the Bauhaus, is held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.