"The circle . . . is the synthesis of the greatest oppositions. [It] combines the concentric and the excentric in a single form, and in equilibrium. Of the three primary forms [triangle, square, circle], it points most clearly to the fourth dimension."
(Vasily Kandinsky to Will Grohmann, October 12, 1930, quoted in Angelica Zander Rudenstine, The Guggenheim Museum: Paintings 1880–1945, vol. 1 [New York: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 1976], p. 310.)

Vasily Kandinsky (1866–1944). Several Circles (Einige Kreise), January–February 1926. Oil on canvas, 140.3 x 140.7 cm. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection, By gift 41.283

In 1922 Kandinsky was offered a teaching post at the Bauhaus School of Design. The school had been formed in reaction to many centuries of ornate decoration in Western art and adhered to revolutionary and unadorned styles such as Constructivism that used modern industrial techniques and materials. Kandinsky’s belief in art’s ability to transform self and society made him an ideal candidate for the post. There he discovered a more sympathetic environment in which to pursue his art. Even though his abstract painting sometimes put him at odds with the styles that took an increasingly industrial approach to art, teaching at the Bauhaus enabled him to pursue his work.

At the Bauhaus, Kandinsky continued to investigate color, form, and their psychological and spiritual effects and developed a theory of form based on geometry. He believed that the triangle embodied active and aggressive feelings, and the square represented peace and calm. The circle suggested the spiritual realm. Between 1926 and 1929, Kandinsky produced a series of ten pictures in which the circle is the only form, culminating in his cosmic and harmonious image Several Circles (Einige Kreise, January–February 1926). During the Bauhaus years, the circle’s mystical quality assumed the importance previously enjoyed by the rider motif during the Munich period: “I love circles today in the same way that previously I loved, e.g., horses—perhaps even more, since I find in circles more inner possibilities, which is the reason why the circle has replaced the horse” (Vasily Kandinsky to Will Grohmann, 1930, quoted in Becks-Malorny, Wassily Kandinsky, 1866–1944, p. 157).

In 1933 the Bauhaus came under pressure from the ruling Nazi party, and deprived of financial support, the school was forced to close. Kandinsky embodied everything that Adolf Hitler’s Germany considered undesirable. He was Russian, an abstract painter, and a Bauhaus teacher. His work was termed “degenerate” by the Nazi regime, which objected to virtually all modern art. Artists working in such styles were subject to sanctions, including dismissal from teaching positions as well as a ban on exhibiting or selling art and in some cases on producing art entirely.

Kandinsky once more became an exile, this time in Paris where he continued to work as an artist. In 1937 several of his earlier works were included in the Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art) exhibition in Germany, alongside other works of modern art that the Nazis removed from museums. The confiscated work was installed with defamatory slogans in order to present it as evidence of “cultural decline.” Designed to inflame public opinion against modernism, the exhibition traveled to major cities throughout Germany and Austria and was viewed by more than two million people.

• Ask students to write their responses to the following questions:
  
  • What do you see?
  • How do you react emotionally to the work?
  • What are some possible interpretations of the work?
  Discuss the students’ writings. Is there agreement or disparity in their reflections?
• Ask students to imagine that this painting was animated. What sort of movement could be seen?
• If this painting was accompanied by music, what type of score would the class select for it?
• During this period, Kandinsky was fascinated with the circle’s formal and expressive qualities. Do your students agree with Kandinsky’s theory that this shape possesses special characteristics? How would the painting’s impact change if another geometric form was used?
• To Kandinsky, the square represented peace and calm, and this painting includes a single, overarching square—the shape of the canvas itself. Encourage students to imagine Several Circles on a differently shaped canvas. How would its impact change? Explain.

• Kandinsky was an influential teacher at the Bauhaus. For one of his drawing lessons, he would assemble a still life from planks and strips of wood. The students’ objective was not to copy the still life, but rather to translate it into lines of tension or structure and record heavy or light characteristics. Another lesson asked students to place squares of different colors on black paper and then to repeat the task with white paper. Try one or both of these lessons. Discuss what these activities are intended to teach. Ask your students what they learned from doing them.
  Visual Arts


• Kandinsky believed that the triangle embodied active and aggressive feelings, the circle suggested the spiritual realm, and the square represented peace and calm. In this exercise students should write down all the words they associate with these shapes. Are their associations similar to or different from Kandinsky’s? Discuss where they agree or disagree.
  English / Language Arts


• During his years at the Bauhaus, Kandinsky produced a series of paintings that only featured circles. Have students select a single geometric form and use it as the primary focus for a work. When finished, reflect on whether this single form was overly restrictive or offered sufficient opportunity for experimentation.
  Visual Arts


• The Bauhaus school, which operated from 1919 to 1933, pioneered new approaches to design, photography, architecture, and art education, and its influence continues to be felt today. Some admire its forward-thinking views, while others blame the sterile architecture of many cities on Bauhaus ideals. Debate this question in class with one team arguing for the Bauhaus approach while the other team focuses on the ways that its emphasis on function has faltered.
  English / Language Arts


• Viewed today, it is difficult to understand why Several Circles was one of the hundreds of works confiscated by the Nazi regime and labeled “degenerate.” Research this time in history and in particular the 1937 Degenerate Art exhibition, which showcased work that the government found objectionable. What threats to their ideals did the Nazis see embodied in modern art? Explain.
  Social Studies