Between Heaviness and Lightness by Wassily Kandinsky

Between Heaviness and Lightness, or Heavy between Light as it is sometimes known, has been in a private collection since 2012 after it was auctioned off for nearly $2m through Christie's auctioneers.

This piece was completed using watercolour and gouache and its style is immediately in line with the artist's other work during the 1920s. Circles, triangles and single lines dominate this abstract composition. Reds, blues and yellows are the main colours in this memorable painting. One is left wondering quite what is being depicted in this scene. Often the title given by Kandinsky is a major help is starting to decipher the abstract elements of this style of art. Perhaps this is a landscape scene, with small mounds in the foreground and a sense of perspective leading towards the rear.

These colours and shapes are not new, of course, either in this artist's work or of other related artists. You will find many similar examples within our Kandinsky paintings section, such as Composition VIII, Transverse Line and Black and Violet. Additionally this abstract path was also followed by Kazimir Malevich (Suprematist Composition and Black Square and Red Square) and El Lissitzky at around the same time. Joan Miro did likewise, but many years later. Some have even compared it to Paul Klee's Young Lady's Adventure.

The original German title of this painting was Schweres Zwischen Leichtem which translates as Between Heaviness and Lightness. Kandinsky completed it in 1924 and at this point the artist was starting to move towards a style where less features were immediately obvious. His motifs found in many previous works were absent. In addition to the watercolour there is also some ink which helps to draw out the darker lines that sit on either side of the painting.