Abstract

The development of Western art at the beginning of the 20th century witnessed the gradual formation of a unique modern aesthetic phenomenon of “pure abstraction”.The “pureness”of “pure abstraction”is mainly reflected in two aspects.From the perspective of formative ontology，“pure abstraction”abandons all figurative elements and completely cuts off the referential association between the real world and painting itself；and from the perspective of creative idea，almost all of the artists who practiced “pure abstraction”were influenced by theosophy，the fourth dimension and other mystical doctrines，which were popular in Western intellectual circles at that time.Their creative motives were to express some kind of transcendental，universal and eternal metaphysical spirit.The occurrence of “pure abstraction”was the inevitable result of Western modern art pursuing self-discipline and possessing an independent “grammatical system”，while the theosophical theory and the fourth dimension concept provided a rich source of thoughts and formative paradigm for the avant-garde artists who were looking for new opportunities to destroy the old and establish the new.In this process，these artists found a way to win the battles of anti-narrative and anti-imitation，and to implement the self-declaration of originality.

This monograph analyzes specific artists，movements，and related theories in detail.Firstly，it concentrates on excavating and exploring such non-Western European mainstream artists as Hilma af Klint，Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis，Mikhail Larionov，Natalia Goncharova，František Kupka，Robert and Sonia Delaunay，who were greatly marginalized by the paramount occidentalism art history narrative but implemented a complete transition to abstraction relatively earlier.With the help of some certain “significant form”，these pioneers of “pure abstract”art have all presented the transcendental mysticism in their own way.For the well-recognized masters of “pure abstraction”-Wassily Kandinsky，Kazimir Malevich and Piet Mondrian，who had systematically constructed theories and corresponding creative practice，this monograph focuses on the origin of abstract ideas of the three artists，the aesthetic strategy for their works，as well as the core viewpoints of their theoretical writings.Kandinsky defined “composition”as the highest stage of “spiritual art”，and the emphasis on the musicality in painting was the basis of his artistic conception of great synthesis and the idea of “all-unity”；Malevich's black square had internal connection with the fourth dimension on conceptual expression，and the division of the “three stages of Suprematism”from black square to “white on white”reflected his thought of artistic evolution，providing an excellent case for the interpretation of the “end of art”theory；the emergence and development of Mondrian's Neoplasticism had a clear tendency of “replacing religion with art”，and the combination of orthogonal lines and primary colors conveyed the universal harmony of the transcendental space-time.Although the creative styles of the three artists are not identical，they form intertextuality in the theoretical expression of the utopian spirit.

From a deeper source of thought，the “pure abstract”art is inextricably linked with Vladimir Solovyov's religious philosophy，which can be seen as an extension of the Russian Silver Age culture，and it left behind a valuable heritage for the subsequent development of Western art.In general，this monograph aims to deeply explore the motivations and characteristics of “pure abstraction”from the aspects of internal aesthetic factors，mysticism，and formalism.Combining the theoretical writings of artists and the existing research results of international academic community，this monograph comprehensively analyzes and summarizes the metaphysical concepts of “pure abstraction”，attempting to justify the “pure abstract”art pioneers long ignored by Western academia，to discover the “gene of Russian culture”hidden under the “pure abstraction”，as well as to add new dimensions of interpretation to the “pure abstract”art.

Keywords： pure abstraction；theosophy；the fourth dimension；Russian religious philosophy；aesthetic Utopia