{"id":82897,"date":"2021-09-02T17:55:20","date_gmt":"2021-09-02T15:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svetslik.si\/uncategorized\/white-cross-weises-kreuz\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T11:46:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T09:46:16","slug":"white-cross-weises-kreuz","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/svetslik.si\/en\/vasilij-kandinski\/white-cross-weises-kreuz\/","title":{"rendered":"Wassily Kandinsky \u2013 White Cross"},"content":{"rendered":"
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White Cross is a painting by Wassily Kandinsky from the first half of 1922: on a black ground lies a large, tilted pale plane on which circles, two crescents with rainbow edges, a checkerboard, a long black diagonal and signs like the numeral three float. The original is held by the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. We make it as a hand-painted reproduction in oil on canvas, in eight sizes or made to measure, and before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished work to approve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n<\/table>\n

White Cross \u2013 Wassily Kandinsky<\/h2>\n

What can be seen in the painting?<\/h3>\n

The ground is black, and over it lies a large pale, cream-white plane of irregular shape, rising from the lower left towards the upper right corner. At its upper left is a red-orange circle in a blue ring, below it a smaller red circle and a circle divided into red, green and blue segments. At the top centre a crescent curves, with a blue-and-white jagged edge and rainbow stripes, and a second crescent of the same kind lies right of centre. From the lower left to the upper right a long, thin black diagonal crosses the plane; across it, from the upper left towards the lower right, run a broad mottled dark blue band and a red band with a pink edge. At the upper right is a black-and-white checkerboard. On the left are a black circle with an upright red line and two black signs that recall the numeral three. In the centre are a red triangle and pink, yellow and violet planes; at the lower right a round form with a green centre and a yellow-orange rim, and next to it a black net and a blue figure. At the bottom, on a dark field speckled with grey, lies a black sign like an X.<\/p>\n

Why is it called White Cross?<\/h3>\n

According to the museum\u2019s record, the title singles out one detail: the white cross at the upper right, which arises as a formal consequence of the checkerboard, a recurring motif of the period. The empty space between the squares becomes a form in itself. Once the cross of the title has been seen, the museum says, more crosses begin to appear throughout the painting. Like Kazimir Malevich, Kandinsky uses the cross as an abstract element, but the museum points out that it remains an evocative form with a symbolic charge.<\/p>\n

What was Kandinsky\u2019s cool period?<\/h3>\n

According to the museum, he himself called the early 1920s his cool period. In those years geometric forms increasingly took over his work, often floating in front of or within a broad plane, as they do here. Straight lines and circles balance looser organic forms and irregular geometric shapes, and the brushwork varies: some passages are very active, others calmer.<\/p>\n

The fishlike crescent and the black diagonal<\/h3>\n

According to the museum, some of the forms may go back to an older, naturalistic vocabulary. The fishlike crescent and the black diagonal that lances it also appear in the painting Red Oval<\/a> of 1920, held by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, and may recall the boat with oars of earlier works. The museum stresses, however, that the motifs have been stripped of their representational meaning and do not lead to a realistic reading of the whole. As an abstract painting, it shows no boat and no fish: the crescent and the diagonal are shapes and colour, and that is how our painter reproduces them.<\/p>\n

Signs like an upended three<\/h3>\n

According to the museum\u2019s record, Kandinsky includes two signs that resemble an upended numeral three fixed to directional arrows. Because they point in different directions, they suggest that the whole canvas is rotating. The forms, floating as if free of gravity, and the arrangement of signs on a plane against an indefinite ground show, according to the museum, an affinity with the Suprematist works of Kazimir Malevich.<\/p>\n

How is our hand-painted version made?<\/h3>\n

The painter works from a high-resolution reference and builds the painting up in layers, with brush and oil paint. With this subject two things matter: on one side the clean edges of the geometric forms and the sharp corners of the checkerboard, on the other the soft, jagged edges of the crescents and the mottled blue band. The black ground has to stay deep so that the pale plane really floats. An oil painting reproduction keeps its colours for many years, because oil does not fade the way a print does. Since every reproduction is made individually, no two copies match down to the last detail; the subject, the proportions and the colours do.<\/p>\n

Which size for which wall?<\/h3>\n

The original measures 110.6 x 100.5 cm; at our 111 x 101 cm size the width is 4 mm more and the height 5 mm more. As a painting for the living room it works best at 90 x 80 or 111 x 101 cm, where the signs and the checkerboard come into their own. The 50 x 40 and 60 x 50 cm sizes suit a desk or a hallway, 70 x 60 and 80 x 70 cm a bedroom, and 130 x 120 and 150 x 140 cm a large wall. Because the ground is black, the work looks good on a light wall.<\/p>\n

Custom sizes, stretcher and frame<\/h3>\n

If none of the eight sizes fits your wall, we paint this Kandinsky reproduction to your measurements; that is our painting made to measure<\/a>, and we tell you how the composition adapts to the new proportions. Every canvas is stretched on a wooden stretcher. A frame is optional and not included in the base price. If you would like a frame, a narrow black or dark wooden frame suits this work best: it continues the black ground, so the pale plane with its circles and crescents seems to float even more, while a wide, ornate gold frame would compete with the many colours in the centre. Hang the work where daylight falls from the side rather than straight on, so that the black ground stays deep and does not shine.<\/p>\n

Delivery and guarantee<\/h3>\n

Because every painting on canvas is painted only after the order, in our studio in Slovenia, allow 15 to 45 days depending on the size you choose. We ship protected, insured and tracked, within the EU without customs. If anything is wrong on arrival, get in touch and we will put it right. All our works by Kandinsky are collected in the Wassily Kandinsky gallery<\/a>, and the painter is introduced in our article about Wassily Kandinsky<\/a>. Related works we paint include In the Black Square<\/a>, Red Spot II<\/a> and Im Grau<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Frequently asked questions<\/h3>\n

Where is the original?<\/h4>\n

In the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, under inventory number 76.2553.34. The museum\u2019s record is on the Guggenheim website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How big is the original?<\/h4>\n

It measures 110.6 x 100.5 cm. We give the width first; the museum puts the height first, 100.5 x 110.6 cm. At our 111 x 101 cm size the width is 4 mm more and the height 5 mm more.<\/p>\n

When was the painting made?<\/h4>\n

Between January and June 1922, in the years Kandinsky himself called his cool period.<\/p>\n

What does the painting show?<\/h4>\n

Nothing figurative: a pale plane on a black ground, with circles, crescents, a checkerboard, a black diagonal and signs like the numeral three; at the upper right, the white cross of the title.<\/p>\n

Is this a print?<\/h4>\n

No. It is a canvas painting, painted by hand in oil; the brushstrokes show in raking light and can be felt with the fingertips.<\/p>\n

Which size should I choose?<\/h4>\n

For a living room 90 x 80 and 111 x 101 cm work best, for a desk or hallway 50 x 40 or 60 x 50 cm. Before deciding, tape a sheet of paper of the chosen size to the wall and leave it there for a day.<\/p>\n

Can I have a size that is not on the list?<\/h4>\n

Yes. We also paint sizes outside the list and tell you how the forms will be arranged.<\/p>\n

How is it delivered?<\/h4>\n

Insured and tracked, within the EU without customs. Before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished painting to approve.<\/p>\n

Where is the white cross in the painting?<\/h4>\n

At the upper right, in the black-and-white checkerboard: according to the museum it is formed by the empty space between the black squares, not by a painted shape.<\/p>\n

Is the original for sale, and what is it worth?<\/h4>\n

It is not for sale and has no market price. It belongs to a museum collection and stays there; what we offer is a hand-painted copy, not the original, and we never confuse the two.<\/p>\n

Is the painting suitable as a gift?<\/h4>\n

Yes, especially for someone who loves clear forms and strong contrasts. If you are unsure about the subject or the size, there is a gift voucher<\/a>, and the choice stays with the person who receives it.<\/p>\n

Title:<\/td>\nWhite Cross<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Other titles:<\/td>\nWei\u00dfes Kreuz<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Painter:<\/td>\nWassily Kandinsky (1866\u20131944)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Year:<\/td>\n1922<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Original size:<\/td>\n110.6 cm x 100.5 cm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Original technique:<\/td>\nOil on canvas<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Style:<\/td>\nAbstract art<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Location:<\/td>\nPeggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice (inv. no. 76.2553.34)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Our reproduction:<\/td>\nhand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes from 50 x 40 cm to 150 x 140 cm, made to measure on request<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n