Kandinskii’s Theory of Colour and Olesha’s Envy

Abstract

This paper notes how each character in Olesha’s novel Envy is tied to certain colours and how these associations mirror the oppositions between colours laid out in Vasilii Kandinskii’s theory of colour. First the paper outlines the genesis of Kandinskii’s ideas on colour and describes his theory as spelled out in On the Spiritual in Art and Point and Line to Plane. This is followed by a discussion of how Olesha could have come into contact with Kandinskii’s works. Finally, I turn to the use of colour in Envy.