Standing and Falling Tower with Rider (Stehender und Stürzender Turm mit Reiter) (cover) from Über das Geistige in der Kunst (Concerning the Spiritual Art)

The influential work, Standing and Falling Tower with Rider (Stehender und Stürzender Turm mit Reiter) (cover) from Über das Geistige in der Kunst (Concerning the Spiritual Art), was created by Vasily Kandinsky in 1911. This striking piece serves as the powerful visual cover for his foundational theoretical text on abstract expression, which championed the necessity of non-objective, spiritually driven art. The work is a dynamic woodcut, one of eleven such prints used to illustrate the philosophical arguments presented within the treatise. Created in the crucial period immediately preceding the First World War, it captures the revolutionary fervor of early abstract art in Europe.

Kandinsky utilized the bold, simplified forms and stark lines inherent to the woodcut technique to convey a sense of imminent rupture and apocalyptic transition. The composition dramatically juxtaposes a rigid, perhaps collapsing, tower structure with the swift, energetic motion of a rider figure. This rider motif, often employed by Kandinsky during this time, symbolized the spiritual messenger or necessary upheaval required for true societal and artistic change. Though Kandinsky is primarily associated with the development of German Expressionism and Der Blaue Reiter, the classification of this illustrated book within the French culture of 1911 reflects the deep international circulation and widespread influence of the artist's theories and visual output across the European avant-garde movements.

This piece demonstrates Kandinsky's early commitment to abstraction, using non-representational elements to evoke deep emotional and spiritual resonance. The high contrast and simplification of form in the Standing and Falling Tower with Rider make this particular print a critical example of how the artist translated complex theoretical concepts into accessible and potent visual language. The original illustrated book containing these important early prints is preserved in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, underscoring its pivotal role in the history of modernist art and graphic design.