Vignette next to "The Effect of Color" ("Wirkung der Farbe") (headpiece, page 37) from Über das Geistige in der Kunst (Concerning the Spiritual in Art)

The artwork, Vignette next to "The Effect of Color" ("Wirkung der Farbe") (headpiece, page 37) from Über das Geistige in der Kunst (Concerning the Spiritual in Art), by Vasily Kandinsky, serves as a crucial visual component within the artist’s seminal theoretical treatise. Created in 1911, this specific image is a woodcut, one of eleven graphic illustrations that Kandinsky included in the first edition of his text to visually reinforce his developing ideas regarding non-representational art.

Über das Geistige in der Kunst, first published in 1911, functions as a foundational manifesto for European abstraction, asserting the spiritual necessity of abstract forms and color. Kandinsky used the direct, forceful nature of the woodcut medium to create stark, dynamic compositions that moved beyond traditional illustration toward pure abstract expression. This vignette specifically accompanies the chapter on "The Effect of Color" ("Wirkung der Farbe"), utilizing simplified geometric and expressive lines to demonstrate the immediate, non-material impact of visual elements, mirroring the psychological effects he attributes to color theory in the surrounding text. The powerful visual language evident in this piece marks Kandinsky’s definitive pivot away from figuration toward the purely abstract compositions that would dominate his later career.

As a significant example of early 20th-century printmaking, this work is technically classified as an Illustrated Book component. Although Kandinsky was active in the German Expressionist center of Munich during this period, the widespread dissemination of the book, categorized here as French culture due to its later influence and production context, profoundly shaped the course of modernism across Europe. The print demonstrates the effectiveness of the woodcut as a vehicle for the rapid circulation of revolutionary abstract ideas. This vital early abstract work resides in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), acknowledging its central role in the history of abstract prints.