Frontispiece (Frontispiz) from Über das Geistige in der Kunst (Concerning the Spiritual in Art)

Frontispiece (Frontispiz) from Über das Geistige in der Kunst (Concerning the Spiritual in Art) by Vasily Kandinsky is a crucial graphic work created in 1911. Classified specifically as an Illustrated Book, this volume features the woodcut as its frontispiece along with ten other prints, establishing a visual dialogue with Kandinsky’s seminal theoretical text. The treatise articulated the shift away from purely material representation toward expressive, non-objective forms, defining a critical cornerstone of early modernist abstraction.

The print utilizes the high-contrast capabilities inherent in the woodcut medium, which Kandinsky favored for its stark, direct energy. The composition features dynamic, sharp-edged forms that emphasize movement and symbolic structure, visually summarizing the "spiritual" concepts detailed within the book. Though created by the Russian-born artist, the publication’s immense influence and distribution ties it deeply to the international avant-garde centered in Germany and extending into French intellectual circles of the period around 1911, showcasing the transnational nature of early abstraction.

As an integral component of the complete Illustrated Book, the Frontispiece demonstrates Kandinsky's pioneering efforts to integrate theory, text, and non-objective image. The choice of the woodcut format facilitated the rapid and wide dissemination of both his theories and his graphic work among the broader European artistic community. This work is a primary example of how Kandinsky merged spiritual concerns with radical formal innovation at the dawn of abstraction. This significant early piece by Kandinsky is currently preserved in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.