Ikonen und die Moderne / Icons and Modern Art

This title explores the little-known influence of Russian icons on Modern Western Art. The author juxtaposes 21 paintings with great Russian icons, discussing how the icon served as inspiration for a seemingly unrelated work of modern art and how the two contrasting works form a unique, cohesive whole. Whether the artists are of Russian origin such as Kandinsky, Malewitsch, and Poiakoff, they come from a western cultural tradition as do Klee and Fontana, they are inspired by spiritual sources as are Mondrian and Tapiès; or they even reject all visual influences as do Giacometti and Kiefer, each artist's work presented here parallels, in some way, an important Russian icon.