Arthur Jerome Eddy, Chicago (acquired by 1913)
Galka E. Scheyer, Braunschweig, New York & California
Martin Janis, Encino, California (acquired by 1943)
Margit Chanin, New York (acquired by 1963)
Heinz Berggruen, Paris
Sale: Kornfeld & Klipstein, Bern, 13th June 1974, lot 420
Sale: Sotheby’s, London, 3rd December 1980, lot 129a
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Los Angeles, Stendhal Art Galleries & San Francisco, San Francisco Museum of Art, Kandinsky, 1936, no. 1
San Francisco, San Francisco Museum of Art, Paintings by Wassily Kandinsky: A Survey 1923 to Present, 1939
New York, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Vasily Kandinsky: A Retrospective Exhibition, 1963, no. 4, illustrated in the catalogue
London, Royal Academy of Arts, Kandinsky Watercolours and other Works on Paper, 1999, no. 3, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Jerusalem, The Israel Museum, Wassily Kandinsky: The Colour of Abstraction, 1999, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Fondation Maeght, Rétrospective Vassily Kandinsky, 2001, no. 5, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Will Grohmann, Wassily Kandinsky. Life and Work, New York, 1958, no. 655, illustrated p. 404 (with incorrect measurements)
Erika Hanfstaengl, Wassily Kandinsky. Zeichnungen und Aquarelle. Katalog der Sammlung in der Städtischen Galerie im Lenbachhaus München, Munich, 1974, pp. 157-158
Michel Conil Lacoste, Kandinsky, Paris, 1979, illustrated in colour p. 17
Drei Hauptwerke aus drei Jahrzehnten. Eine didaktische Ausstellung. Bilder. Fotos. Texte (exhibition catalogue), Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, 1980, illustrated p. 24
Vivian Endicott Barnett, Kandinsky Watercolours, Catalogue Raisonné, London, 1992, vol. I, no. 94, illustrated p. 109
Jelena Hahl-Koch, Kandinsky, London, 1993, no. 94, illustrated in colour p. 87

The artist's board is stable. Apart from a few scattered tiny spots of pigment loss, this work is in very good condition. Colours: Overall fairly accurate in the printed catalogue illustration, although slightly brighter and fresher in the original.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Executed in 1903, Kreuzfahrer is a wonderful example of the transitional period in Kandinsky’s œuvre, introducing a style of painting that prefigures the artist’s development towards abstraction. At that time Kandinsky often favoured themes from Russian fairytales and folklore, drawing upon Russian iconography. The artist often featured opulent Russian cityscapes, replete with onion domes and jewel-like colours. Many of these works were created using gouache and the optical shimmer of the pigment added to the medieval, mosaic-like quality of the works. Kandinsky would devote a series of works to the figure of Saint George and the dragon in 1911-13. The image of the crusader/rider in the present work draws on the same tradition.

 

The artist’s use of strong, defined colour planes in Kreuzfahrer reflects the changing and increasingly important role of colour in Kandinsky’s art. Discussing the importance of the works from this transitional period, Reinhard Zimmermann explains how ‘patches of paint are applied with a brush to a coloured ground, often in a dark tone, which is itself incorporated into the composition as a whole […] Against the [dark] background the colours develop a singular luminescence quite distinct from that of colours seen against a white background […]. While colours against a pale background represent natural daylight, colours against a dark background seem to glow from within – and appear all the more intense. The aesthetic of the colour patch is important here: as small isolated patches the colours become precisely those independent living beings, equipped with mysterious powers that Kandinsky described in his texts’ (R. Zimmermann, ‘Early Imprints and Influences’, in Kandinsky, The Path to Abstraction (exhibition catalogue), Tate Modern, Londo꧂n, 2006, pp. 26-29).