Wassily Kandinsky Degenerate Art

Throughout human history, art has always served a revolutionary purpose in our culture. Much of the time, these artists and leaders have been labeled as radicals and outcasts, only to be accepted by the mainstream years later. Artists are true progressives and have influence over society, media, architecture, entertainment, and various other aspects of life. In Germany during the nineteenth century, political leaders realized this and attempted to put a halt to art that they felt damaged society and insulted German feeling. In 1937, the Nazi party asked a panel to purge what Hitler described as “degenerate art” and then put the art in an exhibit to be shown off to officials as propaganda. All dictators know that oppression of creativity is

Much of the art that was collected and later destroyed was art created by German modern artists, many widely respected and revered. One in particular was Wassily Kandinsky, who was an artist and teacher at the famous art and architectural school Bauhaus. Kandinsky used his artistic abilities to portray ordinary life in Western Europe as something more beautiful and exciting. Some recognized this passion in him to culturally liberate and shed new hope and inspiration into mainstream culture, like his colleague and friend Franz Stuck, who claimed “What a great creative force should operate in Kandinsky! What prompt evolution… [His work] despite their common dynamics. Here - a constrained impulse, there - a liberated

Dark greens, blacks, browns, and oranges are mixed together to form a landscape. A small body of dark, almost black water is on the left, about the size of a pond. The water is too dark to see through and the only things visible are the small yellow flowers - like ballerinas, long and tall, dancing and reaching out for the sunlight. A dirt pathway bends along the pond’s edge leading to a row of trees in the background. The pathway is curved and oddly shaped. The trees tower over the scenery and almost reach the top of the canvas. They are large, oppressive, dark, and domineering. There is a thin white space of sky above the trees. The point of view is slightly off due to the lighting being distorted. What appears to be a normal outdoor scene is slightly surreal, distorted by the thick paint strokes. The background is dark but the accenting colors pop, like looking for the positive in a dark situation. Over top of the dark paint is bright white and yellow paint in very thin lines which makes everything seem to slightly glow. During a time of great political oppression, religious intolerance, and war, Kandinsky was giving the common man hope through art. In “Study of Sluice” he portrays a typical landscape and gives it a dark background to represent oppression. Kandinsky alters the lines of reality by leaving them blurry, reminding people they are capable of changing their