Wassily Kandinsky is often called the father of abstract art, and his circles, lines and triangles are some of the most recognisable forms in modern design. On the wall, though, the Kandinsky that works best is often not a painting but a poster — the lithographed exhibition posters that galleries printed for his shows, with his image and a bold line of type.
From Moscow to the Bauhaus
Kandinsky (1866–1944) trained as a lawyer in Moscow and only turned to painting at thirty, when he moved to Munich. There, in 1911, he and Franz Marc founded the group Der Blaue Reiter, and he published Concerning the Spiritual in Art, an argument that colour and form could move people the way music does, without depicting anything at all. He described hearing colours and seeing sounds, and titled many of his works like music: Improvisation, Composition.
From 1922 to 1933 he taught at the Bauhaus, first in Weimar and then in Dessau, alongside Paul Klee. His Bauhaus work is harder-edged — precise circles, grids and diagonal lines — and in 1926 he published his teaching as Punkt und Linie zu Fläche (Point and Line to Plane). When the Nazis closed the school in 1933 he moved to France, where he lived until his death in 1944.
That date means his work is in the public domain in the EU, and our Kandinsky collection can show it freely.
Kandinsky - Punkt und Linie Poster
Kandinsky Forme Rouge Poster
Wassily Kandinsky - Galerie Maeght Poster
Wassily Kandinsky Exhibition Poster
Klee & Kandinsky Exhibition Poster
Wassily Kandinsky - Krugier Gallery Poster
Why the exhibition posters are so good
After the war, galleries such as Galerie Maeght in Paris commissioned lithographic posters for their exhibitions: a single image, the artist's name and the venue, printed in strong colour. They were made to be pinned up in cafés and shop windows — which is to say, they were designed as posters from the start. That is why they look right in a frame at home in a way that a scaled-down reproduction of a large canvas sometimes does not.
The type is part of the appeal. A line of lettering along the bottom gives the image a base, and makes the print read as a considered object rather than a copy of a painting. It also links Kandinsky naturally to the Bauhaus exhibition posters and the wider Bauhaus collection.
Choosing one
| Type | Best for | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Geometric Bauhaus works (circles, lines) | Modern, minimal rooms; home office | 50×70 |
| Exhibition posters with type | Living room, hallway, above a desk | 50×70 or 70×100 |
| Early colourful compositions | Rooms with colour already in them | 70×100 |
Frames and hanging
Black is the classic choice for exhibition posters — it echoes the lettering and gives a gallery look. Oak softens the geometric works and suits Scandinavian rooms. Avoid wide mounts on posters with text along the bottom edge; the poster was designed with its own margin. Standard centre height is 145 cm (see the hanging height guide); above a desk, drop it so the bottom edge sits 20–25 cm above the desk top.
For a pair, combine a Kandinsky with a Klee: they taught side by side and exhibited together, and our Klee & Kandinsky exhibition poster is a reminder that the pairing is historical, not just decorative. More on Klee in the Paul Klee guide.