Xylographies (Xylographs)

Xylographies (Xylographs) by Vasily Kandinsky is a significant early twentieth-century print portfolio initially conceived in 1907 and published two years later, in 1909. Classified as a print, the complete work comprises eight sheets, including the front cover, back cover, and the title page for the portfolio. The technical medium is specific: the final images are heliogravures reproducing the aesthetic and structural qualities of the original woodcuts (xylographs) Kandinsky had created. This reproduction process, favored for its fidelity and ability to disseminate images widely, allowed for the controlled distribution of the artist’s emerging formal language across Europe.

Though Russian, this collection of prints is noted for its French cultural classification, reflecting the intense international artistic exchange that defined modernism in this period. The woodcut medium was central to Kandinsky’s aesthetic exploration during his transition away from representational art. The inherent limitations of the woodcut process demand bold simplification, resulting in compositions that utilize powerful black-and-white contrasts and reduced forms. These graphical characteristics provided Kandinsky with the tools necessary to break down narrative representation and focus purely on abstract relationships between line, shape, and contrast.

The creation date of 1907 places this work immediately prior to the pivotal theoretical and visual breakthroughs that would define pure abstraction. This portfolio, therefore, provides critical insight into the visual syntax Kandinsky developed before the creation of his seminal abstract canvases. Preserved within the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the complete set of eight sheets demonstrates the artist's engagement with graphic arts as a vital component of his artistic output. This early work shows how modern artists used reproduction methods, such as heliogravures after woodcuts, to circulate groundbreaking artistic ideas rapidly throughout the French and German art scenes in the years leading up to World War I.