Second Annual Print for the Kandinsky Society (Zweite Jahresgabe für die Kandinsky-Gesellschaft)

The Second Annual Print for the Kandinsky Society (Zweite Jahresgabe für die Kandinsky-Gesellschaft) is a key work by abstract master Vasily Kandinsky, created in 1926. Classified as a print, this piece was executed using the demanding technique of drypoint. This image served as the official second annual offering to members of the Kandinsky Society, an organization established to support and disseminate the artist's theoretical and practical work following his return to the Bauhaus.

Dating from the mid-1920s, the work exemplifies the geometric and Constructivist impulses prevalent in Kandinsky’s output during his teaching tenure in Germany. The complex composition utilizes sharp lines and layered forms characteristic of the drypoint technique, where lines are scratched directly into the plate. This process creates distinct, soft, burred edges around the resulting lines, giving the print a texture and depth unique among his other prints. This particular phase marks Kandinsky's transition away from the expressive turbulence of his Munich years toward a more systematic, analytical approach to non-objective art.

While created during the Bauhaus era, this piece reflects the extensive influence Kandinsky had on European modernism, particularly within French art circles, which provided a robust market for his experimental graphics and theories. The nature of its classification as a print meant that limited editions of the artwork were distributed, helping to popularize his complex visual concepts internationally.

As a highly sought-after graphic work from this pivotal era, the Zweite Jahresgabe für die Kandinsky-Gesellschaft provides significant insight into Kandinsky’s mature formal vocabulary. This specific impression is held in the prestigious collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. This 1926 drypoint print remains a fundamental reference point for scholars examining the intersection of abstraction and printmaking in early twentieth-century art.