BEELDEN IN VEELVOUD

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German version by Heinrich Ludwig of 1882. Yet I thmk that more recent, French verslons of the beginning of the twcntieth century would have appcalcd to him more. They were edited by the abovc-mentioned Joséphin Péladan who, like many other contemporary mystics and symbolists, had an exceptional aesthetic and historical admiration for Leonardo. He had shown this already in his earlier texts on art and mystical writings, in which hè also appearedas an advocate of the Ordre de la Rose + Croix+ Catholique, proposing Leonardo as its patron saint.26 Péladan was no stranger to Kandinsky who mentioned him in Ober das Geïsüge and who had paraphrased a statement by Péladan, 'Artist, thouartking' (Artiste, tuesroï) from atext of 1894 in which hè also rcferred to Leonardo.27 Péladan followed up his small anthology of 1907 of Leonardo's texts including the passages on the depiction of the deltige and storms, by editing the first annotated French translatïons of Leonardo's treatise on painting and his discussion on landscape painting, that hè thought was a separate treatise.28 This was, incidentally, the year that Kandinskydecidcd to abandon the depiction of fairytale themes and turn instead to deluge and storms. The tone of Pcladan's introduction to Leonardo's treatise on landscape painting not only resembles that of Kandinsky's writings; it also comains similar aesthctic judgements. According to Péladan, no-one had summed up 'the l aws of the pure landscape' (les lois du paysage pur) as wel! as Leonardo had done in his treatise on landscape (includïng scènes of the deluge and storms), thus giving voice to 'clemental life and all that is cosmic' (la vie élémentaire et l'aspect cosmique). According to him Leonardo's treatise taught us to reaüze the mystery and divinity of natura! phenomena. In his short account of the aesthetics of landscape painting, hè thcn stressed that a landscape should always be imbued with a soul, praising the classical painters for this quality. In his view, they 'had such a deep understanding of nature, that they have given ït a soul and a person, pcopling it with invisible beings'.29 What rcally martered for Péladan was that each type of landscape gave rise to a different kind of emotion depcnding on the light, the colour range and the artist's sensïbility.30 Leonardo's text also demonstratcd how wrong it was to think that landscape was an easier genre than Tables et [...] histoires'. Kandinsky having toïled on his Composition VI would have applaucled this. And in his description of ïts creation Kandinsky too emphasized that making art is a matter of an effective organïzation of colours and tones rather than figurative representatïon. REPRODUCTIONS As said above. Kandinsky's curiosity must have concerned Leonardo's drawings just as much as his texts. Péladan's edïtions were nor much help KAND<strong>IN</strong>SKY'S COMPLETION OF LEONARDO'S DELUGE A_6l
4-Jean Paul Richter, 77j
Page 1 and 2: LEID S KUNSTHISTORISCH JAARBOEK BEE
Page 3 and 4: Dcz.e uitgave is tot stand gekomen
Page 5 and 6: 251 Al die cdclvrouwen en goudsmids
Page 7 and 8: 454 Paul van den Akker
Page 9 and 10: j. Wassily Kandinsky Deluge (smdy f
Page 11 and 12: affio [sic], as an admirer and witn
Page 13: 'Penetrating to the heart of nature
Page 17 and 18: 6. Wassily Kandinsky, Improvhatlon
Page 19 and 20: ays break through. Kandinsky himscl
Page 21 and 22: Tiere herab, da sie keinen andern P

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