Picture with a Black Arch

Wassily Kandinsky

1912 · Oil on canvas · Centre Pompidou, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

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Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

Picture with a Black Arch

Accent in Pink

Circles in a Circle

3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

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Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

Free shipping worldwide · arrives in 4–9 business days

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

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About this work

Artist: Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944)
Year: 1912
Medium: Oil on canvas
Original size: 189 × 198 cm
Collection: Centre Pompidou, Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris
Movement: Abstract art

Three large colour masses, a deep crimson, a blue-green and a red-orange, press against each other on a pale ground, and above them a thick black arch swings across the top like a drawn bow. A small red disc floats at upper left, and fine black lines scratch through the blue and red. Kandinsky painted it in Munich in 1912, and it is one of the large canvases of that year in which recognisable motifs have almost entirely disappeared; it is often counted among his first fully abstract paintings. The arch is usually traced to the harness bow of the Russian troika, a motif that appears in several of his works of 1911 to 1913, including Painting with Troika, where it is still attached to horses. Nina Kandinsky gave the painting to the Musée National d'Art Moderne in Paris in 1976.

This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

Crimson, blue-green and red-orange masses under a swinging black arch on a cream ground, for a living room, dining room or study at 24×36 in black. A white or parchment wall; it pairs with Painting with Troika.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Exhibition poster of a Abstract art painting
Era: 20th century (1912)
Orientation: Portrait
Palette: cream & beige
Mood: classic
Rooms: living room, dining room, study or library, dorm room, hallway or entryway
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.

Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Exhibition poster — original, drawn in-house • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or natural wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The exhibition-poster edition sets the complete image above typography designed in-house.

Is Picture with a Black Arch in the public domain?

Yes. Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by Centre Pompidou.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or natural wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was Picture with a Black Arch painted, and in what medium?

Picture with a Black Arch dates from 1912 and was made in oil on canvas; the original measures 189 × 198 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For Picture with a Black Arch we'd choose 24×36.

About this design

A museum-exhibition poster of Wassily Kandinsky's Picture with a Black Arch — a heavy black arch sweeping over three floating colour masses in red, blue and violet — shown whole and uncropped beneath gallery typography. Kandinsky: Colour and Abstraction, styled as a blockbuster exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or natural wood. Part of the Madten Exhibition Posters Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.

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