“Improvisation 28″. Wassily Kandinsky. 1912. Oil on Canvas.
Unlike Mondrian’s and Newman’s attempts to induce harmony, Kandinsky’s piece was meant to inspire. But it is no less a modern work of art. Teeming with apocrvaphyl imagery and suggestions, “Improvisation 28″ was created to reflect Kandinsky’s opinion of biblical Judgement Day, and upon analysis it is found to be quite the example of Apocrypha.
Consisting of jagged lines, sporadically thrown-together colors, and images of horsemen and disembodied eyelashes, this painting represents the chaos of the Apocalypse. And Kandinsky intended for his audience to feel this whirlwind of emotion and feeling that accompanies the end of the world. Despite criticism that this piece is not scenic in nature, in that it doesn’t depict some kind of image reflective of the natural or spiritual world, it is wholly valuable in that it instead reflects Kandinsky’s persona, and by association the time period in which he painted it.