Few artists changed the course of art history as fundamentally as Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944). The Russian-born painter is widely credited as one of the founders of pure abstraction, or the radical idea that color, shape, and line could carry emotional and spiritual meaning entirely on their own, without representing anything from the visible world.

Sign Series (also known as Zeichenreihen, or Strings of Characters) was created in 1931 during Kandinsky's years at the Bauhaus school in Dessau. The composition arranges rows of abstract symbols across a warm, mottled ground: it is part musical score, part ancient script, part dream alphabet. Kandinsky was a synesthete who literally perceived music as color and shape, and his symbols carry intentional meaning: circles for the spiritual, triangles for energy, squares for calm. The result is a composition that rewards slow looking.

The original tempera on cardboard is held in the permanent collection of the Beyeler Foundation in Basel, Switzerland. This piece is a vintage fine art framed reproduction, likely from the 1970s, bearing Kandinsky's in-plate monogram with "31" — a reference to the year the original was made — in the lower corner. The warm double mat and dark wood frame are consistent with professional framing of that era, presented without glass in the open-frame style.

Medium
Fine art reproduction print, framed

Dimensions
25" W x 21" H (framed)

Condition
Good vintage condition. The mat shows foxing — small brown age spots that develop naturally in paper over time — as well as small tears at the mat edge, all visible in photos. Frame has wear consistent with age and use. None of it would stop us from hanging this in our own home — if anything, it adds to the sense that this piece has lived.

Return Policy
Because each piece is one-of-a-kind, all sales are final. Please review photos, measurements, and condition notes carefully before purchasing. If you have any questions, we’d love to hear from you. See our store policies for more details.