Small Worlds II (Kleine Welten II) from Small Worlds (Kleine Welten)

"Small Worlds II (Kleine Welten II) from Small Worlds (Kleine Welten)" by Vasily Kandinsky is a key lithograph executed in 1922. This compelling abstract work is one of twelve highly experimental prints that compose the seminal Kleine Welten portfolio, an important collection that marked a major turning point in the artist’s engagement with graphic media following World War I.

The comprehensive portfolio is noteworthy for its technical diversity, combining six lithographs (including two transferred from woodcuts), four drypoints, and two distinct woodcuts. This extensive use of varied printmaking techniques highlights Kandinsky's belief that each graphic medium inherently possessed its own unique emotional register and capacity for spiritual expression. Small Worlds II, created as a lithograph, showcases the artist’s ability to manipulate dynamic linear forces and geometric elements within a confined space.

Created during his tenure at the Bauhaus in Germany, the piece reflects the structured shift toward purified geometry that defined Kandinsky’s aesthetic evolution following 1921. The artist sought to demonstrate the expressive power of line, shape, and contrast, justifying the portfolio’s title by creating twelve intense, self-contained microcosms. While Kandinsky was based in Weimar when the portfolio was produced, the classification of the collection as French culture reflects the subsequent international circulation and influence of these prints across Europe.

The creation of the abstract suite in 1922 solidifies the print’s status as a fundamental modernist achievement. This iconic example of graphic abstraction by Kandinsky is housed within the extensive print collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).