Mountains (Berge) (plate, folio 35) from Klänge (Sounds)

Mountains (Berge) (plate, folio 35) from Klänge (Sounds) by Vasily Kandinsky is a foundational piece of graphic art created in 1913, illustrating the artist’s crucial shift toward non-objective representation. This image is a woodcut, one of fifty-six graphic illustrations that accompany Kandinsky’s own avant-garde prose poems within the illustrated book Klänge (Sounds). The selection of the woodcut medium was deliberate; its capacity for bold, unmodulated black and white forms allowed Kandinsky to explore stark contrasts and rhythmic, angular compositions essential to his emerging abstract vocabulary.

Although nominally representing "Mountains," the plate pushes firmly past objective landscape depiction. Kandinsky employs highly charged abstract masses and dynamic, intersecting lines that suggest geological forms and seismic energy rather than defining them concretely. This graphic intensity emphasizes movement and internal structure, reflecting the artist’s central belief in the equivalence between visual form and musical resonance—a concept deeply explored throughout the entire Klänge project. The work powerfully captures the revolutionary spirit prevalent in European art during the period (1913), when artists in Munich and Paris were rapidly abandoning representational traditions.

Klänge was a profoundly influential publication within the European avant-garde, resonating especially strongly within French art circles and contributing significantly to the broader trajectory of Modernism. Classified as an illustrated book, this format underscores Kandinsky’s commitment to unifying poetry, music, and visual art. As an early example of complete abstraction achieved through prints, this work remains an important public domain resource for researchers studying the origins of non-representational painting and graphic technique. Kandinsky’s powerful woodcuts from this portfolio are preserved in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, underscoring their enduring significance in the history of graphic arts.