Study for Kleine Freuden by Wassily Kandinsky, 1913

Study for Kleine Freuden (1913) by Wassily Kandinsky captures a pivotal instant in the artist’s rapid transition from expressive, recognizable motifs to a new visual language of pure color, line, and rhythm. Painted in 1913—just before the First World War and shortly after Kandinsky published his influential treatise On the Spiritual in Art—the study reads like “visual music,” in which forms rise and fall like notes in a score. Russian-born and active in Munich among the Der Blaue Reiter circle, Kandinsky sought to convey inner feeling through harmonies of hue and gesture rather than depiction, and this work distills that aspiration with remarkable clarity.

This fine art print is produced with museum-quality care, available on acid-free archival paper or on artist’s cotton canvas. The Unique Maps Co. offers a range of sizes to suit intimate corners or bold statement walls, with optional professional framing in classic finishes. Personalization is available on request—add a small title line, a dedication, or tailor margins and color profiling—so your print arrives ready to hang and perfectly matched to your space.

About the artist: Kandinsky (1866–1944) was a pathfinder of early abstraction, renowned for forging a bridge from the emotive brushwork of Expressionism to an entirely non-objective art. His ideas about synesthesia—the interplay of sound and color—animated his practice, as did his belief that painting could access spiritual experience beyond the visible world. In 1913, at the heart of the European avant-garde, he crystallized those convictions in studies and canvases that recalibrated modern art.

About the artwork: The title Kleine Freuden—“Small Pleasures”—hints at the work’s intimate, exploratory nature. As a study, it reveals Kandinsky probing the relationships between chromatic accents and directional lines, testing how a curved arc can balance a burst of color, or how a slanted beam can press a composition forward like a chord change. The result is a buoyant, improvisational field where meaning is carried not by objects but by cadence, contrast, and interval—an approach that would inform his larger, more resolved paintings from the same year.

Color, style, and why you’ll love it: Dominated by sunlit yellows, flared with reds and warm oranges, the composition vibrates with warmth and optimism, while assertive black strokes add syncopation and structure. Curving sweeps and angled touches cross and echo one another, generating a feeling of motion that’s at once lyrical and precise. Hung in a living room, studio, or entryway, this print radiates energy and invites slow looking—an ever-fresh reminder of how color and line alone can stir the senses.

Beautifully printed and customizable by The Unique Maps Co., this piece makes a thoughtful gift for design lovers, art students, and anyone who delights in color—perfect for birthdays, housewarmings, Mother’s or Father’s Day, Christmas, or for welcoming home a traveler newly inspired by Europe’s great museums.

If you're not sure what size to order, or you're looking for a custom order of some kind – a different size, a different colour, a special frame – then please contact me. I usually respond within a few minutes.

You can see an example of my fine art personalisation service in the fifth image. Zoom in and take a look. My personalised artwork is always very well received. Take a look at more examples of personalisation.

You can also choose to age your art print to make it look older. This is popular amongst my customers who want their artwork to look like an older, antique print. You can see an example of ageing in the sixth product image, or go ahead and check out lots of examples of other aged artwork.

The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this art print.

I can print and frame this beautiful piece of art at sizes up to 3 metres (10ft). If you are looking for a size or framing option that isn't available online, please get in touch.

This artwork is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. My standard frames come in six colours (black, dark brown, dark grey, antique gold, oak and white), and custom framing is available for an additional charge. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.