Motif from Improvisation 10 (Motiv aus Improvisation 10) (plate, folio 50) from Klänge (Sounds)

Motif from Improvisation 10 (Motiv aus Improvisation 10) (plate, folio 50) from Klänge (Sounds) by Vasily Kandinsky is a crucial graphic work created in the seminal year 1913. This piece is a powerful example of early abstraction, executed as a woodcut from the artist's highly influential illustrated book, Klänge (Sounds). The book, which contains fifty-six woodcuts alongside experimental prose poems, represented Kandinsky's effort to synthesize visual art and sound, a conceptual framework central to his theories on non-objective art. The technique of the woodcut, with its capacity for stark contrasts and expressive, elemental lines, allowed Kandinsky to distill forms into rhythmic, purely abstract shapes.

The composition, echoing the title's reference to "Improvisation," suggests the spontaneity and musical dynamics translated directly into a visual language. Kandinsky utilized a vocabulary of fragmented lines, dynamic diagonals, and hovering geometric motifs to convey inner necessity, or innere Notwendigkeit. While his contemporaneous oil paintings utilized vibrant color, this woodcut emphasizes texture and the spiritual tension inherent in the stark contrast between black ink and the paper substrate. The resulting image moves far beyond representational objects, focusing instead on the movement and non-linear spiritual resonance of pure form. The expressive density of the black ink against the white folio creates powerful visual anchors, driving the eye across the abstract field.

Produced during a period when the foundation of modernism was rapidly shifting, this particular graphic work solidified Kandinsky’s reputation as the primary pioneer of European non-objective art. His innovation deeply influenced subsequent generations of artists in Germany and Russia, and his work became highly significant to developing French artistic circles shortly thereafter. This pivotal moment in modern printmaking is preserved within the esteemed collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), recognizing its importance both as an illustrated book and as an essential document of early abstract expression. As a foundational work within 20th-century prints, the piece continues to be studied for its groundbreaking approach to composition and abstract design.