Small Worlds X by Wassily Kandinsky

Wassily Kandinsky produced a series of prints in 1922 that became known as his Small Worlds series. The prints derived from a number of etchings, woodcuts and lithographs as the artist experimented with alternative art mediums.

The tenth design in this series, Kleine Welten X (Small Worlds X) was produced directly from an etching and several prints were produced from it that have since been sold on to several major art institutions across the world. These types of prints have enabled collectors to get hold of Kandinsky work at more affordable prices and there has also always been an interest in etching prints ever since the days of the North Renaissance. In those days there would be used as a means to promote an artist across new boundaries through the dispersal of these cheap prints via major port cities. They were clearly far more portable than the large canvases being produced at that time and were also deliberately priced in a way that even the masses could hang them upon their walls.

The artist leaves precise lines and shapes within this artwork. There is a main component within the centre of the drawing, and then a number of satellite shapes which fill the rest of the scene. There is plenty more blank space here than he would have left within his paintings, perhaps because of the very different nature of these art forms. The lack of a background with etchings also means that everything feels entirely more precise. Every element is unique and independent and it is this style from all the different ones used by the artist during his career that best suits the etching method. The lines are particularly clear, with some resembling the parallel lines of musical notebooks.

The various prints from the Small Worlds X etching can be found within institutions such as the National Galleries of Scotland, MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The most famous Kandinsky paintings are now worth tens of millions of dollars, meaning these alternative options are far more affordable and also allow us to see an alternative skillset within this artist's career. They can also be loaned in and out more easily, being relatively small and also without the same necessary constraints around insurance. The Small Worlds series was intended as a means by which Kandinsky would display his view of the world, as an array of similar but independent visual items.