Wassily Kandinsky – Composition IV

Composition IV is an abstract painting by Wassily Kandinsky from 1911: a landscape canvas of 250.5 x 159.5 cm on which a blue mountain, three long black lances and a rainbow stand in a pale yellow space. The original is held by the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf under inventory number 1013. We make it as a hand-painted reproduction in oil on canvas, in eight sizes or to your measurements, and before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished painting to approve.

Composition IV – Wassily Kandinsky

Is there anything recognisable in it?

More than on the later canvases of the series. The middle is taken by a large blue mass the eye reads without effort as a mountain; three long black poles rise through it, like lances or a mast. At the lower left a coloured arc spans the canvas like a rainbow, and at the upper right stand two upright pale forms with rounded tips that suggest towers. It is still not a scene: none of these shapes is drawn as an object, all are areas and lines that give up detail. The museum publishes no description of the content – there is none in its record – so we name them as we see them: mountain, lances, rainbow, two towers. What is scene and what is a relation of shapes is left to the viewer.

What is on the canvas?

The canvas is landscape, considerably wider than it is tall. The ground is pale yellow and cream, almost white in places, so every darker form stands on light. The middle is held by a large blue mass with a marked upper edge that falls away to the left into a low grey-violet base. Three long black lines rise through it and separate near the top. At the left lies a knot of sharp black strokes, with a few short parallels and a small red-orange form among them. Below it a band of blue, pink and yellow arcs across – a rainbow ending in a grey wedge. At the upper right stand two upright pale forms with green and dark markings, beside a red-violet patch in the corner. At the lower right lies a long yellow-white form like a reclining figure, with a dark edge and a red dot. The painter’s signature sits in the lower left corner.

Why does this painting matter?

Composition IV was painted in 1911, the year Kandinsky finished Concerning the Spiritual in Art and while his language still leaned on nameable things. The canvas is signed lower left, and on the back it carries the painter’s note “VK, Komposition 4, No. 125, 1911”; in the Roethel/Benjamin catalogue it is number 383. It came to Düsseldorf in 1965 as a gift of Westdeutscher Rundfunk and hangs in the K20 collection. It is interesting as a border: mountain, lances and rainbow can still be seen, yet the colours and areas are already stronger than the things they stand for.

What does the painting mean?

The museum publishes no reading of this canvas – there is none in its record, checked – so we offer none either. What we have are the painter’s own words. In Concerning the Spiritual in Art (1911) Kandinsky writes that colour acts directly on the soul: colour is the keyboard, the eye the hammer, the soul a piano with many strings. His way of working follows from that: the forms on the canvas do not describe the world, they are the means by which he builds a relation – here between the heavy blue mass and the pale, almost empty ground. If you see a battle, a rainbow after a storm or a city on a hill, that reading is yours; ours is to tell you what is on the canvas and who keeps it.

Why is it called Composition IV?

Kandinsky divided his work of these years into three kinds and described them in Concerning the Spiritual in Art. An Impression is the direct impression of outward nature, an Improvisation the largely unconscious expression of inner processes, and a Composition the expression of a slowly formed inner feeling that the painter checks with reason and intention. The number IV marks the fourth work of that series. The Draft for “Composition IV” (1911, watercolour and ink, 19 x 26.3 cm) is held by the Lenbachhaus in Munich under GMS 460. The later canvases of the same series are Composition V and Composition VI; our range also holds Composition VII.

How is our hand-painted version made?

This is a canvas painting made with a brush and oil paint, not with a printer. The original is painted in oil-tempera and we work in oil – the techniques differ in the binder, not in how a stroke looks, and that is exactly why it matters how the paint is laid on. The painter works from a high-resolution museum image and builds the surface in layers: first the pale yellow ground, then the blue mass, and last the black lines, which have to be drawn in one pass. In an abstract work it is the relation between the colours that holds everything together, so we leave nothing to chance: a Kandinsky reproduction in oil keeps those relations for years, because paint does not fade the way a print does. We have no studio photographs of our own for this work yet, so you will not find any on this page – when the next copy is painted we photograph it and the shots come here. Before dispatch every customer receives a photograph of their own finished canvas to approve. Because everything is done by hand, every hand-painted copy is unique and no two are quite the same.

Which size for which wall?

If you are unsure: 120 x 80 cm. Our largest size, 251 x 160 cm, matches the original almost one to one – the work for really large walls, foyers and stairwells. 160 x 100 cm is the natural painting for the living room above a sofa, while 120 x 80 cm suits a narrower wall or a bedroom. The smaller 70 x 50 and 90 x 60 cm sizes sit above a chest of drawers, a desk or in a hallway; 140 x 90, 190 x 120 and 220 x 140 cm are for open-plan rooms, dining rooms and offices. Because the work is wide and light, it tolerates a wall with less space around it than the darker canvases of this series.

Custom size, stretcher and frame

If none of the eight sizes fits your wall, we paint the work to your measurements and keep the proportions of the original; that is our made-to-measure painting. Like all our paintings on canvas, this copy arrives stretched on a wooden stretcher, ready to hang. For the frame, use our 3D app: it shows every one of our frame profiles on this motif, so you can compare gold, silver, black, white and natural wood before deciding – the app is only for choosing the frame. If you want to see how the work will look on your own wall, that is our separate room-visualisation service.

Delivery and guarantee

Every copy is made to order in our studio in Slovenia, so allow 15 to 45 days depending on the size. We ship it stretched and protected for transport, framed if you chose one, across the EU with no customs. Before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished work to approve, and every order is covered by our returns policy. You will find the whole range in our Wassily Kandinsky gallery, and our article on Wassily Kandinsky tells the story of his life.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the original?

In the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen (K20) in Düsseldorf, inventory number 1013; it came there in 1965 as a gift of Westdeutscher Rundfunk.

What does the painting show?

A blue mass as a mountain, three long black lances, a rainbow at the lower left and two pale upright forms at the upper right – all on a pale yellow ground. The museum does not interpret the content.

Is Komposition IV the same work?

Yes. Composition IV, Komposition IV and Композиция IV are titles of the same canvas of 1911.

Is this a print?

No. It is an oil painting reproduction made by hand on canvas; you can see and feel the brushstrokes.

Which size should I choose?

For a living room, 120 x 80 or 160 x 100 cm; 251 x 160 cm matches the original almost exactly, and the size guide above covers other walls.

Can I have a size that is not listed?

Yes, we paint to measure and keep the proportions of the original.

How is it delivered?

Stretched on a stretcher, and framed if you chose a frame, within 15 to 45 days of your approving the photograph of the finished work.

What is the painting about, in one sentence?

The relation between a heavy blue mass and a pale ground, in which the remains of the recognisable world – mountain, lances, rainbow – are already giving way to colour.

Is the original for sale, and what is it worth?

No. The canvas belongs to a public collection in Düsseldorf and is not for sale; a hand-painted canvas is the only way to have it at home.

How high should I hang it?

The centre of the work at eye level, about 145–150 cm from the floor; above a sofa, 15–25 cm above the backrest.

Does it work as a gift?

Yes, for someone who loves modern art it is a well-judged choice. If you would rather let them choose, there is a gift voucher.

• Subject: a blue mountain, three black lances and a rainbow on a pale yellow ground – 1911
• Original: 250.5 x 159.5 cm, oil-tempera on canvas, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf (inv. 1013)
• Ours: hand-painted oil on canvas, eight sizes from 70 x 50 to 251 x 160 cm, stretched and framed on request
• Worth knowing: the back of the canvas carries the painter’s note “VK, Komposition 4, No. 125, 1911”