Gabriele Münter (acquired from the artist)
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, November 12, 1988, lot 332
Sale: Christie's, New York, May 9, 2007, lot 324
Acquired at the above sale

Munich, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Kandinsky (Gabriele-Münter-Siftung) und Gabriele Münter: Werke aus fünf Jahrzehnten, 1957, no. 51

Hans Konrad Röethel & Jean K. Benjamin, Kandinsky: Catalogue Raisonné of the Oil Paintings, 1900-1915, vol. I, London, 1982, no. 167, illustrated p. 176

Canvas is lined. Surface bears a layer of varnish and appears slightly dirty. There are thin cracks in the thickest pigments around the upper left quadrant and center-right area of the canvas. Under UV light: a thick layer of varnish is hard to read through, but no inpainting is apparent. Overall the work is in good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The aesthetic theories governing many of Kandinsky's compositions throughout his career were expressed in his 1911 treatise Concerning the Spiritual in Art, in which he praised the power of color and its influence on the beholder. Kandinsky believed that particular arrangements of color triggered an "inner resonance" or "spiritual vibration" that could elicit from the viewer a powerful emotional response. The present work catches Kandinsky in transit as he barrels toward pure abstraction.  In the years before he penned the theories that gave birth to his best-known work, Kandinsky's paintings dissolved pastoral and folkloric subject matter into thick swatches of color ripe with material presence and chromatic intensity. The result, exemplified here by Park von St. Cloud, is a🌃 dynamic composition vibrating at a point of tension bꦺetween color and form.