Wassily Kandinsky (Russian; 1866-1944) "Le Cavalier Bleu" (The Blue Rider) Woodcut Print Numbered 63/100 in Exhibit Quality Frame W/COA - This piece is a woodcut print titled "Le Cavalier Bleu" (The Blue Rider), by Wassily Kandinsky. Kandinsky's name is synonymous with colorful, radical abstraction, however in his early career before he completed his fully abstract works, he created figurative, evocative works on paper, largely in black and white. These woodcuts challenged the artist to reduce compositions and narratives to simplified, expressionistic forms, often using just black ink or limited palettes. After meeting Wassily Kandinsky's widow Nina, publisher Pierre Argillet became especially interested in Kandinsky's woodcuts, resulting in the publication of these works in 1968 under Nina Kandinsky's supervision. Argillet was a famous art collector and publisher, who collaborated with and was close friends with surrealist artist Salvador Dali for fifty years, and this piece comes with a certificate of authenticity from Argillet's daughter Christine at the Museum of Surrealism in Melun, France. This woodcut was created from the original plate from the "Poemes" (Poems) suite made by Kandinsky in 1911. This was a limited edition piece, and is numbered 63/100 and signed in plate in the lower right corner with the stamp of the artist and the stamp of the editor. The piece measures approximately 25"L x 15"W and has been framed in a beautiful, exhibit quality frame. Wassily Kandinsky was a Russian painter and art theorist, regarded as one of the most important artists of the 20th century. He was born in Moscow in 1866, and studied art in Munich. Kandinsky holds a vital place in the history of modern art as a founder member of the groundbreaking Blue Rider group (der Blaue Reiter) and the progenitor of pure abstraction in painting. He is credited with painting one of the first recognized purely abstract works. Kandinsky's work, both artistic and theoretical, played a large role in the philosophic foundation for later modern movements, in particular Abstract Expressionism and its variants like Color Field painting.