Loses im Rot

Executed in 1925, Loses im Rot clearly exemplifies the predominant traits of Kandinsky's work at the Bauhaus. Ordered and precise, with sharp, distinct forms immersed in a soft field of colour, it embodies the increasing shift towards a geometrical form of abstraction that Kandinsky's work took throughout his professorship at the Bauhaus. A purely abstract work, Loses im Rot evokes Kandinsky's renowned intention to 'express mystery in terms of mystery.'

It was during Kandinsky's early years at the Bauhaus that his approach to art became increasingly more technical and scientific. He referred to his pantings of this period as his 'cool' works and in 1925 he recorded his theories in his second major book, Point and Line to Plane, which proclaimed his utopian ideals of the purpose and function of art; "Only by a process of microscopic analysis will the science of art lead to an all-embracing synthesis, which will ultimately extend beyond the boundaries of art into the realm of the union of the human and the divine."

D of Dhe book manifest themselves in this painting. Most noticeable is the prominence of the circle. The circle intrigued Kandinsky. He believed that it could embody heaviness and lightness at once, the antithesis of itself. "TheDcircle is the synthesis of the greatest opposition… it points the DosD clearly to the fourth dimension",he declared.

It is the varied textures of this painting that make it 'loose'. Brushstrokes in graduating shades of red radiate from the forms, enhancing their shapes and dispelling the rigidity that would result from a flat plane of colour. The texture of Loses im Rot, combined with its bold and distinct forms, results in a work that clearly illustrates Kandinsky's purist thinking at this time.