Works
Ivan Wyschnegradsky
(b. 1893, Saint Petersburg; d. 1979)
Division de la coupole (Division of the Dome, 1943–50)
Crayon, graphite, and ink on paper
34.4 × 26.5 cm
Projet de clavier ultrachromatique (Project for an Ultrachromatic Keyboard, 1943)
Crayon, graphite, and ink on paper
Hémisphère de 5184 cellules (Hemisphere of 5184 cells, 1943–50)
Crayon, graphite, and ink on paper and cardboard
Réseau Sonore (Acoustic network, 1943)
Ink and crayon on paper
All works Paul Sacher Stiftung, Basel
All works Neue Galerie, Kassel
An avant-garde composer, Ivan Wyshnegradsky’s research into microtonal music was inspired by Mikhail Matyushin. In the 1940s, already living in France, Wyschnegradsky started using colors to describe microtones. He studied analogies of color and sound, correlating the twelve tones of the chromatic scale with the twelve colors of the visible spectrum of light, aiming to develop a form of ultra-chromatic time-space.
