Bleu de ciel by Wassily Kandinsky, 1940

Bleu de ciel (1940) by Wassily Kandinsky is a luminous late-career painting by the Russian-born pioneer of abstract art. Created during his Paris years, the work distills decades of experimentation—from the spiritual color theories that fueled Der Blaue Reiter to the formal clarity of his Bauhaus teaching—into a buoyant, sky-hued cosmos of floating forms. The French title, “Sky Blue,” signals the painting’s expansive, airy temperament: a tranquil blue field where playful, biomorphic shapes drift, collide, and gently harmonize.

This listing offers a museum-quality fine art print of Kandinsky’s Bleu de ciel, produced on your choice of acid-free archival paper or artist’s cotton canvas. Each print is crafted with pigment inks for rich, lasting color. Choose from a range of sizes and optional framing in handcrafted wood mouldings; add a white border or mat for a gallery look. The Unique Maps Co. also offers personalization—such as a dedication line—and custom sizes, crops, and color calibration to suit your space.

Kandinsky (1866–1944) is celebrated for advancing non-objective painting and for articulating how color, line, and form can convey inner emotion. His influential writings explored the resonance of color much like music—how a note or chord can be felt as well as heard. After early breakthroughs in Munich and co-founding Der Blaue Reiter, his Bauhaus years refined his vocabulary into a precise grammar of points, lines, and planes; the late Paris period reintroduced organic playfulness, fusing rigor with lyrical invention.

Bleu de ciel emerges from that mature synthesis. Painted in 1940, it presents a serene, sky-blue ground across which delicate creatures of the artist’s imagination hover—neither fully geometric nor strictly naturalistic. These biomorphic figures—some like pennants, others like tiny kites, motes, or micro-organisms—suggest a world seen at once from far above and very close, inviting open-ended readings. Rather than describe a scene, the painting proposes an atmosphere: weightless, musical, and contemplative.

Color and composition are the engine of its appeal. A radiant blue field anchors the eye while accents of yellow and red, with touches of green and earthy brown, spark buoyant contrasts. Fine black filaments, points, and arcs connect one form to another, setting up a rhythm of pauses and pulses across the surface. The interplay of curvilinear silhouettes and crisp, planar details creates both movement and balance—an ideal statement piece for interiors that favor modern, Scandinavian, mid-century, or eclectic design. As a print, its cool blue palette softly enlarges a room while the lively color notes keep it from ever feeling austere.

A timeless choice for art lovers and design enthusiasts alike, this print makes a thoughtful gift for birthdays, Christmas, Mother’s or Father’s Day, housewarmings, graduations, or for anyone newly returned from Paris with the city’s blue skies still on their mind.

If you're not sure what size to order, or you're looking for a custom order of some kind – a different size, a different colour, a special frame – then please contact me. I usually respond within a few minutes.

You can see an example of my fine art personalisation service in the fifth image. Zoom in and take a look. My personalised artwork is always very well received. Take a look at more examples of personalisation.

You can also choose to age your art print to make it look older. This is popular amongst my customers who want their artwork to look like an older, antique print. You can see an example of ageing in the sixth product image, or go ahead and check out lots of examples of other aged artwork.

The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this art print.

I can print and frame this beautiful piece of art at sizes up to 3 metres (10ft). If you are looking for a size or framing option that isn't available online, please get in touch.

This artwork is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. My standard frames come in six colours (black, dark brown, dark grey, antique gold, oak and white), and custom framing is available for an additional charge. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.