Small Worlds V (Kleine Welten VI) from Small Worlds (Kleine Welten)

Small Worlds V (Kleine Welten VI) from Small Worlds (Kleine Welten) is a pivotal graphic work created by Vasily Kandinsky in 1922. This individual print is drawn from the highly significant Kleine Welten (Small Worlds) portfolio, an influential collection of twelve experimental prints that confirmed Kandinsky’s mastery of diverse printmaking media.

Reflecting the artist’s commitment to exploring the potential of graphic arts, the complete portfolio was highly ambitious, encompassing two conventional woodcuts, four drypoints, and six lithographs. Specifically, this impression of Small Worlds V is classified as a lithograph that was transferred from a woodcut block. This complex technical process allowed Kandinsky to integrate the textural qualities of the original relief print into the flatter surface of the lithograph, resulting in a composition marked by sharp, deliberate lines and areas of dense geometric abstraction.

Executed during a formative period in Kandinsky’s career following his return to Germany and his association with the Bauhaus school, the Small Worlds series marks a critical step in his move toward rigid, geometric abstraction. The small format of the prints allowed the artist to explore microcosms of form, featuring intersecting lines and fragmented geometric planes that clash and balance, creating contained yet highly dynamic compositions. This dense structural rigor contrasts sharply with the earlier, more organic fluidity found in his pre-war abstract watercolors.

Though produced by a Russian artist teaching in Germany, the portfolio’s international influence and distribution ties it deeply to the dissemination of modern abstraction in the early 1920s, cementing its importance within French artistic and intellectual circles. The graphic impact of this piece captures the energetic complexity that defines Kandinsky’s output during this time. Today, this masterwork of abstract prints is housed in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York, serving as a key reference point for understanding the artist’s contribution to the revolution of modern printmaking.