Houses in Munich Vasily Kandinsky (1866-1944)

This painting, Houses in Munich, by Wassily Kandinsky, depicts a vibrant and stylized view of a city street. The foreground features a grassy area with small groups of figures, suggesting a park or public space. Across a road or walkway, a row of buildings dominates the scene. These structures are rendered in bold, exaggerated colors – oranges, yellows, reds, and blues – with simplified geometric shapes for windows and rooftops. Behind them, more buildings and trees are visible, creating a sense of depth and urban sprawl, all bathed in the warm, hazy light of a sunset or sunrise.
The subtext of the painting lies in Kandinskys move towards abstraction and his interest in expressing the emotional and spiritual qualities of his subjects. The intensely saturated and non-naturalistic colors are not meant to represent reality as it is, but rather to evoke feelings and sensations. The distorted perspective and simplified forms suggest a move away from objective representation towards an internalized, subjective experience of the city. The figures in the foreground, depicted as simple masses of color, are absorbed in their own gatherings, hinting at the quiet, everyday life that unfolds amidst the energetic cityscape. The overall effect is one of dynamic energy and emotional resonance, a departure from literal depiction into a more expressive visual language.