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 A L A N M E L V I L L E A L A N M E L V I L L E
International Financial Reporting
A Practical Guide Sixth Edition
International
“Like Beethoven’s sixth, perfectly pitched for the intermediate accounting student!”
Financial Reporting

A Practical Guide
International Financial Reporting
Raymond Holly, Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (Ireland)

A Practical Guide
“A practical, no-nonsense guide to IFRS, backed up by plenty of worked examples to
illustrate the requirements.” Sixth Edition
Katherine Martin, Nottingham University Business School
Reviews of the previous edition

With more than 120 countries in the world now using international financial reporting standards (IFRS®
Standards), knowledge of the standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB®)
is vital to students’ success in financial accounting. Melville’s International Financial Reporting employs a
practical, applied approach in exploring and explaining the key international standards. With a focus on how
to implement the standards, this text delivers a focused, user-friendly introduction to international financial
reporting.

Renowned for clear and concise language, this sixth edition brings the book completely up-to-date with
international standards issued as of 1 January 2017.

M E L V I L L E
Key features
• Unique practical approach
• Class-tested by professional and degree students
• Worked examples with solutions in every chapter
Visit www.pearsoned.co.uk/melville for
• Chapter-end exercises featuring questions
our suite of resources to accompany this
from past exam papers of key professional accountancy
textbook, including a complete solutions
bodies
guide, PowerPoint slides for each chapter
and opportunities for extra practice.

Alan Melville FCA BSc Cert Ed. is a best-selling author. Previously a Senior Lecturer at Nottingham Trent
University, he has many years’ experience of teaching accounting and financial reporting.

Front cover image: © Butch Martin/Getty Images www.pearson-books.com Sixth

Edition

CVR_MELVILLE_06_AW2.indd 1 05/06/2017 10:27

 Contents

Reporting cash flows from Definition of related party and related

operating activities 255 party transaction 348
Disclosures 262 Disclosures required by IAS24 350
Foreign exchange accounting 351
17 Financial reporting in
Reporting foreign currency
hyperinflationary economies 272
transactions 352
Historical cost accounting and
Translation to a presentation currency 354
its weaknesses 273
Strengths of historical cost accounting 278
Alternatives to historical cost Part 4 Analysis of Financial Statements
accounting 279
Hyperinflationary economies 280 22 Ratio analysis 361
The restatement of financial statements 280 Accounting ratios 362
Disclosures required by IAS29 285 Profitability ratios 363
Liquidity ratios 367
Efficiency ratios 369
Part 3 Consolidated Financial Statements Investment ratios 372
Limitations of ratio analysis 379
18 Groups of companies (1) 291
Multivariate ratio analysis 380
Requirement to prepare consolidated
financial statements 292 23 Earnings per share 388
Group statement of financial position Significance of EPS 388
at date of acquisition 293 Calculation of basic EPS 389
Group statement of financial position Shares issued during the accounting
in subsequent years 297 period 391
Partly-owned subsidiaries 300 Bonus issues 393
Preference shares 303 Rights issues 394
Elimination of intra-group balances 305 Calculation of diluted EPS 397
Unrealised profits 306 Presentation and disclosure
Reporting period and accounting requirements 399
policies 307
24 Segmental analysis 404
Disclosure requirements 307
Operating segments 405
19 Groups of companies (2) 316 Reportable segments 405
Group statement of comprehensive Disclosures required by IFRS8 407
income 317
Group statement of changes in equity 317 Part 5 Small and Medium-sized Entities
Subsidiary acquired part way through
an accounting period 323 25 The IFRS for SMEs Standard 417
Small and medium-sized entities 418
20 Associates and joint arrangements 331
Concepts and pervasive principles 419
Associates and significant influence 332
Financial statement presentation 420
The equity method 333
Statement of financial position 421
Application of the equity method 333
Statement of comprehensive income
Joint arrangements 340
and income statement 421
Disclosure requirements 341
Statement of changes in equity and
21 Related parties and changes in Statement of income and retained
foreign exchange rates 347 earnings 422
Related parties 348 Statement of cash flows 422

vii
Contents

25 The IFRS for SMEs Standard (cont.)

Notes to the financial statements 422 Borrowing costs 428
Consolidated and separate financial Share-based payment 428
statements 423 Impairment of assets 428
Accounting policies, estimates and Employee benefits 429
errors 423 Income tax 429
Financial instruments 424 Foreign currency translation and
Inventories 424 Hyperinflation 429
Investments in associates and Events after the end of the reporting
joint ventures 424 period 429
Investment property 425 Related party disclosures 430
Property, plant and equipment 425 Specialised activities 430
Intangible assets other than goodwill 426 Transition to the IFRS for SMEs
Business combinations and goodwill 426 Standard 430
Leases 426
Provisions and contingencies 426 Part 6 Answers
Liabilities and equity 427
Revenue 427 Answers to exercises 433
Government grants 428 Index 497

viii
 Preface

The purpose of this book is to explain International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS®
Standards) and International Accounting Standards (IAS® Standards) at a level which is
appropriate for students who are undertaking an intermediate course of study in financial
reporting. It is assumed that the reader has already completed an introductory accounting
course and is familiar with the basics of financial accounting. The book has not been
written with any particular syllabus in mind but should be useful to second-year under-
graduates studying for a degree in accounting and finance and to those who are preparing
for the examinations of the professional accounting bodies.
IFRS Standards and IAS Standards (referred to in this book as "international standards")
have gained widespread acceptance around the world and most accounting students are
now required to become familiar with them. The problem is that the standards and their
accompanying documents occupy over 4,000 pages of fine print and much of this content
is highly technical and difficult to understand. What is needed is a textbook which
explains each standard as clearly and concisely as possible and provides students with
plenty of worked examples and exercises. This book tries to satisfy that need.
The standards are of international application but, for the sake of convenience, most of
the monetary amounts referred to in the worked examples and exercises in this book are
denominated in £s. Other than this, the book contains very few UK-specific references and
should be relevant in any country which has adopted international standards.
Each chapter of the book concludes with a set of exercises which test the reader's grasp
of the topics introduced in that chapter. Some of these exercises are drawn from the past
examination papers of professional accounting bodies. Solutions to most of the exercises
are located at the back of the book but solutions to those exercises which are marked with
an asterisk (*) are intended for lecturers' use and are provided on a supporting website.
This sixth edition is in accordance with all international standards or amendments to
standards issued as at 1 January 2017.
Alan Melville
April 2017

ix
 Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the IFRS Foundation for permission to use extracts from various
IASB® standards. This publication contains copyright material of the IFRS Foundation in
respect of which all rights are reserved. Reproduced by Pearson Education Limited with
the permission of the IFRS Foundation. No permission granted to third parties to
reproduce or distribute. For full access to IFRS Standards and the work of the IFRS
Foundation, please visit http://eifrs.ifrs.org.
The International Accounting Standards Board, the IFRS Foundation, the author and the
publishers do not accept responsibility for any loss caused by acting or refraining from
acting in reliance on the material in this publication, whether such loss is caused by
negligence or otherwise.
I would also like to thank the following accounting bodies for granting me permission to
use their past examination questions:
! Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
! Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)
! Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT).
I must emphasise that the answers provided to these questions are entirely my own and are
not the responsibility of the accounting body concerned. I would also like to point out that
the questions which are printed in this textbook have been amended in some cases so as to
reflect changes in accounting standards which have occurred since those questions were
originally published by the accounting body concerned.
Please note that, unless material is specifically cited with a source, any company names
used within this text have been created by me and are intended to be fictitious.
Alan Melville
April 2017

x
 List of international standards

A full list of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS® Standards) and the
International Accounting Standards (IAS® Standards) which are in force at the time of
writing this book is given below. Standards missing from the list have been withdrawn.
Alongside each standard is a cross-reference to the relevant chapter of the book.
It is important to realise that new or modified standards are issued fairly often. The
reader who wishes to keep up-to-date is advised to consult the website of the International
Accounting Standards Board (IASB®) at www.ifrs.org.

International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) Chapter

IFRS 1 First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards 1
IFRS 2 Share-based Payment 14
IFRS 3 Business Combinations 6, 18
IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts –
IFRS 5 Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations 8
IFRS 6 Exploration for and Evaluation of Mineral Resources –
IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures 11
IFRS 8 Operating Segments 24
IFRS 9 Financial Instruments 11
IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements 18, 19
IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements 20
IFRS 12 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities 18, 20
IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement 5
IFRS 14 Regulatory Deferral Accounts –
IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers 13
IFRS 16 Leases 9
IFRS for Small and Medium-sized Entities 25
SMEs
International Accounting Standards (IASs)
IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements 3
IAS 2 Inventories 10
IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows 16
IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors 4

xi
List of International Standards

IAS 10 Events after the Reporting Period 12

IAS 11 Construction Contracts 10
IAS 12 Income Taxes 15
IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment 5
IAS 17 Leases 9
IAS 18 Revenue 13
IAS 19 Employee Benefits 14
IAS 20 Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosure of Government 5
Assistance
IAS 21 The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates 21
IAS 23 Borrowing Costs 5
IAS 24 Related Party Disclosures 21
IAS 26 Accounting and Reporting by Retirement Benefit Plans –
IAS 27 Separate Financial Statements 18
IAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures 20
IAS 29 Financial Reporting in Hyperinflationary Economies 17
IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation 11
IAS 33 Earnings per Share 23
IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting 3
IAS 36 Impairment of Assets 7
IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets 12
IAS 38 Intangible Assets 6
IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement 11
IAS 40 Investment Property 5
IAS 41 Agriculture –
It should be noted that some of these standards are beyond the scope of this book and are
considered no further here. These are IFRS4, IFRS6, IFRS14, IAS26 and IAS41.
As well as the international standards, two further IASB documents (neither of which is
a standard) are dealt with in this book. These are:
(a) the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting (see Chapter 2) which sets out a
number of concepts that underlie financial reporting and which is referred to by the
IASB during the development of new and amended standards
(b) an IFRS Practice Statement entitled Management Commentary (see Chapter 3) which
provides a non-binding framework for the presentation of a management commentary
to accompany a set of financial statements.

xii
Part 1

INTRODUCTION TO FINANCIAL
REPORTING
 Chapter 1

The regulatory framework

Introduction
Financial reporting is the branch of accounting that deals with the preparation of financial
statements. These statements provide information about the financial performance and
financial position of the business to which they relate and may be of value to a wide range
of user groups. More specifically, the term "financial reporting" is most often used to refer
to the preparation of financial statements for a limited company. In this case, the main
users of the statements are the company's shareholders. However, the information which is
contained in financial statements may also be of use to other user groups such as lenders,
employees and the tax authorities (see Chapter 2).
The purpose of this book is to explain the rules which govern the preparation of financial
statements for organisations which comply with international standards. This first chapter
introduces the regulatory framework within which financial statements are prepared. The
next chapter outlines the main features of a conceptual framework setting out the main
concepts which underlie financial reporting.

Objectives
By the end of this chapter, the reader should be able to:
• list the main sources of accounting regulations and explain the need for regulation
• explain the term "generally accepted accounting practice" (GAAP)
• outline the structure and functions of the International Accounting Standards Board
(IASB®) and its associated bodies
• explain the purpose of an accounting standard and list the main steps in the standard-
setting process adopted by the IASB
• outline the structure of an international financial reporting standard or international
accounting standard
• explain the main features of IFRS1 First-time Adoption of International Financial
Reporting Standards.

3
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PART 1: Introduction to Financial Reporting

The need for regulation

Small business organisations are usually managed by their owners. This is generally the
case for a sole trader, where the business is run by a single owner-manager, and for
partnerships, where the business is owned and managed by its partners. Similarly, small
private limited companies are often managed by their shareholders, who might all be
members of the same family. In these circumstances, the owner or owners of the business
can glean considerable amounts of financial information from their day-to-day
involvement in managing its affairs and so do not depend solely upon formal financial
statements to provide them with this information.
In contrast, large businesses (which are usually limited companies) are generally owned
by one group of people but are managed by a different group. A large public company is
owned by its shareholders, of whom there may be many thousands, but is managed by a
small group of directors. Although some of the shareholders may also act as directors, it is
likely that the large majority of the shareholders have no direct involvement in managing
the company which they own. Such shareholders are almost entirely reliant upon the
company's financial statements for information regarding the company's financial
performance and position and to help them to determine whether or not the company is
being properly managed. Other external user groups (such as the company's creditors) are
also dependent to a large extent upon the information contained in financial statements
when trying to make economic decisions relating to the company.
If the form and content of financial statements were not regulated, it would be possible
for incompetent or unscrupulous directors to provide shareholders and other users with
financial statements which gave a false or misleading impression of the company's
financial situation. This would inevitably cause users to make poor economic decisions
and so undermine the whole purpose of preparing financial statements. Therefore it is
vital, especially in the case of larger companies, that financial reporting should be subject
to a body of rules and regulations.

Sources of regulation

The rules and regulations which apply to financial reporting may be collectively referred
to as the "regulatory framework". In practice, most of this framework applies only to
companies, but it is important to realise that financial reporting regulations could be made
in relation to any class of business entity. Indeed, the international standards which are the
subject of this book generally refer to "entities" rather than companies. However, it may be
assumed for the remainder of the book that we are dealing primarily with financial
reporting by companies. The regulatory framework which applies to financial reporting by
companies consists of the following main components:
(a) legislation
(b) accounting standards

4
 CHAPTER 1: The Regulatory Framework

(c) stock exchange regulations.

Each of these is explained below.

Legislation
Most of the developed countries of the world have enacted legislation which governs
financial reporting by limited companies. This legislation does of course differ from one
country to another. In the UK, for example, the Companies Act 2006 contains rules
relating to matters such as:
• the accounting records which companies must keep
• the requirement to prepare annual accounts (i.e. financial statements)
• the requirement that these accounts must give a "true and fair view"
• the requirement that the accounts must be prepared in accordance with either
international standards or national standards
• the circumstances in which group accounts must be prepared (see Chapter 18)
• the circumstances in which an audit is required
• the company's duty to circulate its accounts to shareholders and to make the accounts
available for public inspection.
Some of these rules have arisen as a result of European Union (EU) Directives† and this is
also true of the legislation in other member states of the EU.
† In view of the Referendum result on 23 June 2016, it seems safe to say that EU influence over UK
company law will eventually cease to exist.

Accounting standards
Whilst legislation generally sets out the broad rules with which companies must comply
when preparing financial statements, detailed rules governing the accounting treatment of
transactions and other items shown in those statements are laid down in accounting
standards. Many of the developed countries of the world have their own standard-setting
bodies, each of which is responsible for devising and publishing accounting standards for
use in the country concerned. In the UK this is the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).
The USA has a Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and there are standard-
setters in other countries such as Germany, Japan, Australia etc.
However, the increasing globalisation of business has fuelled the search for a single set
of accounting standards. These standards would apply throughout the world and would
greatly improve the consistency of financial reporting. To this end, the International
Accounting Standards Board (IASB®) has developed and is continuing to develop a set of
international standards which it hopes will attain global acceptance. These standards are
already used in a great many countries of the world (see later in this chapter).
Most of the remainder of this book is concerned with the international standards and an
introduction to the work of the IASB is given later in this chapter.

5
PART 1: Introduction to Financial Reporting

Stock exchange regulations

A company whose shares are listed (or "quoted") on a recognised stock exchange must
comply with the regulations of that stock exchange, some of which may relate to the
company's financial statements. A stock exchange may, for example, require its member
companies to produce financial statements more frequently than required by law (e.g. to
publish interim financial reports at quarterly or half-yearly intervals) or to provide a more
detailed analysis of some of the items in its financial statements than is required by law or
by accounting standards.

Generally accepted accounting practice

The term "generally accepted accounting practice" (GAAP) refers to the complete set of
regulations (from all sources) which apply within a certain jurisdiction, together with any
general accounting principles or conventions which are usually applied in that jurisdiction
even though they may not be enshrined in regulations. Since accounting rules and
regulations currently differ from one country to another, it is correct to use terms such as
"UK GAAP", "US GAAP" and so forth. At present, there is no globally accepted set of
accounting regulations and principles but the IASB is working towards that end and is
trying to achieve convergence between the various regulations which are in force through-
out the world (see later in this chapter). The term "international GAAP" is used to refer to
the standards issued by the IASB and the principles on which those standards are based.
A distinction is sometimes drawn between big GAAP and little GAAP, as follows:
(a) The term "big GAAP" refers to the accounting regulations which apply to large
companies (generally listed companies). The financial affairs of these companies can
be very complex and therefore the regulations concerned need to be correspondingly
complex. Some of the international standards described in this book appear to have
been written mainly with large companies in mind.
(b) The term "little GAAP" refers to the simpler accounting regulations which apply to
smaller companies. In the UK, for example, smaller companies may choose to adopt
the Financial Reporting Standard for Smaller Entities issued by the UK Financial
Reporting Council, rather than complying with UK accounting standards in full.
At the international level, the IASB has issued the IFRS for SMEs® Standard. This
is essentially a simplified version of the full international standards and is intended
for use by small and medium-sized entities (mainly unlisted companies). A brief
summary of the SMEs standard is given in Chapter 25 of this book.

6
 CHAPTER 1: The Regulatory Framework

The International Accounting Standards Board

International standards are developed and published by the International Accounting

Standards Board (IASB) which was formed in 2001 as a replacement for the International
Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). Standards published by the IASB are known as
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS® Standards). Standards published by
the IASC are known as International Accounting Standards (IAS® Standards). Many of the
IAS Standards are still in force, since they were adopted by the IASB on its inception. At
present, the list of extant standards comprises sixteen IFRS Standards and twenty-eight
IAS Standards. A full list of these standards is given at the front of this book.
The IASB consists of fourteen members, of whom up to three may be part-time. The
members of the IASB are chosen for their professional competence and their relevant
experience and are selected in such a way that a broad geographical balance is maintained
on the Board. The current IASB Chairman is Hans Hoogervorst. The previous Chairman
was Sir David Tweedie, who occupied the position for ten years and was formerly
Chairman of the UK standard-setting organisation.
The IASB is responsible to the trustees of the IFRS Foundation, as is shown in the
following diagram:

IFRS Foundation

IFRS Advisory International IFRS Interpretations

Council Accounting Standards Committee
Board

The IFRS Foundation

The constitution of the IFRS Foundation states that its objectives are as follows:
(a) to develop, in the public interest, a single set of high-quality, understandable,
enforceable and globally accepted financial reporting standards based upon clearly
articulated principles. These standards should require high quality, transparent and
comparable information in financial statements and other financial reporting to help
investors, other participants in the world's capital markets and other users of financial
information to make economic decisions;
(b) to promote the use and rigorous application of those standards;

7
PART 1: Introduction to Financial Reporting

(c) in fulfilling the objectives associated with (a) and (b), to take account of, as
appropriate, the needs of a range of sizes and types of entities in diverse economic
settings;
(d) to promote and facilitate adoption of the IFRS Standards, being the Standards and
IFRIC® Interpretations (see below) issued by the IASB, through the convergence of
national accounting standards and IFRS standards.
The IASB's Preface to International Financial Reporting Standards states that these are
also the objectives of the IASB.
The activities of the IFRS Foundation are directed by twenty-two Trustees who are
appointed subject to approval by a Monitoring Board (see below) and who are drawn from
a diversity of geographical and professional backgrounds. The Trustees are responsible for
appointing the members of the IASB and the other bodies shown in the above diagram and
for establishing and maintaining the necessary funding for their work. The Trustees are
also responsible for reviewing the effectiveness of the IASB. Financial support for the
IFRS Foundation's activities is received from a variety of sources, including:
(a) national financing regimes based upon a country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
(b) income from publications and related activities
(c) major international accounting firms.
The Monitoring Board comprises high-level representatives of public authorities such as
the European Commission and the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The Trustees
are required to make an annual written report to the Monitoring Board.

The IFRS Advisory Council

The IFRS Advisory Council provides a forum for participation by organisations and
individuals with an interest in international financial reporting. The Advisory Council
comprises thirty or more members drawn from diverse geographical and professional
backgrounds and has the following objectives:
(a) to offer advice to the IASB with regard to its agenda and priorities
(b) to inform the IASB of Council members' views on standard-setting projects
(c) to offer other advice to the IASB or to the Trustees.
The Chairman of the Advisory Council cannot be a member of the IASB or its staff.

The IFRS Interpretations Committee

The main role of the IFRS Interpretations Committee is to interpret the application of
international standards (issuing "IFRIC Interpretations") and to provide timely guidance
on financial reporting matters which are not specifically addressed in the standards. The
Interpretations Committee has fourteen voting members and a non-voting Chair.

8
Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
 VII

THE NEW ART IN MUNICH

“W E cling more closely to the old masters; what we are doing is simply
the natural development of their principles and their methods,” said
a well-known painter of Munich while speaking of the Cubists and
other moderns of Paris, and the words had direct reference to the head of a
woman, by Jawlenski, reproduced herein in color.
It would be difficult to convince the casual observer that this head has any
relationship to portraits by Titian, and yet—

The Cubists are also equally quick to demonstrate the logical connection
between their works and those of the old masters, tracing the connection
through Courbet, El Greco, and so on.
The truth, of course, is that everything modern is a development of
something ancient, that nothing exists unrelated.
Art is as continuous as everything else in life and nature.
One thing flows inevitably out of another.

Sorolla and Zoloaga are the children of Velasquez. Puvis de Chavannes

may seem nearer Raphael and the Italian Primitives than Degas and Manet,
but he is simply the fruition of one collateral line, while Degas is the fruition
of another, and Manet of another—they are all painters, and the art of
painting admits endless variations in theory and technic.

It is, therefore, true that every modern experiment, however strange, may
trace its genealogy to the Old Masters and through them to the Primitives,
and through them to the Cave Painters.
So that when a Munich artist argues that the strange heads of Jawlensky
and the still stranger compositions of Kandinsky are based upon the best
there is in Italian art, the proposition in its broad significance may be
conceded and plenty of room be still left for startling differences between the
art of Venice in the sixteenth century and that of Munich in the twentieth.

There is, however, some slight but tangible foundation for the assertion
that the work of the extreme men of Munich is closer to that of the Old
Masters than the work of the extreme men of Paris, in that most of the former
paint more solidly and substantially, while most of the latter paint more
lightly and superficially—just about the difference that exists between the
two cities, the two environments. The worker in Munich cannot help being
influenced by the German atmosphere, the worker in Paris cannot help being
influenced by the French—in fact each is where he is because he finds the
particular atmosphere congenial.

“The New Artists’ Federation,” in Munich, was founded in January, 1909,

by Adolf Erbslöh, Alexej von Jawlensky, Wassily Kandinsky, Alexander
Kanoldt, Alfred Kubin, Gabriele Münter, Marianna von Werefkin, Heinrich
Schnabel, and Oskar Wittenstein. During the first year Paul Baum, Wladimir
von Bechtejeff, Erma Bossi, Karl Hofer, Moissey Koga, and Albert Sacharoff
joined. Paul Baum and Karl Hofer soon resigned their membership. In 1910
the Frenchmen, Pierre Girieud and Le Fauconnier, became members, and in
1911 Franz Marc and Otto Fischer, followed in 1912 by Alexander
Mogilewsky.
The first exhibition was held in the winter of 1909 in the Modern Gallery, Munich.
Indignation and derisive laughter, and insults from the press were the outward result. Still the
seed scattered was not lost. Similar exhibitions were held in many cities of Germany and
Switzerland. Everywhere they met with opposition, but also made some friends at each
place.
The second exhibition, held in the fall of the following year, brought the members into
contact with a large number of outside artists, some of whom have become of great
importance in the new art, and most of whom were, up to that time, unknown in Germany.
These were the Germans, Hermann Haller, Bernhard Hoetger, Eugen Kahler, Adolf Nieder;
the Frenchmen, Georges Bracque, André Derain, Kees Van Dongen, Francisco Durio, Pablo
Picasso, Georges Rouault, and Maurice de Vlaminck; finally, the Russians, Mogilewsky,
David and Wladimir Burljuk, and Seraphim Sudbinin. This was the first exhibition at which
it was possible to rightly estimate the development and the international character of the new
movement.
 The preparations for the exhibition in the year 1911 led to a split. Some of the members
insisted that, as regarded their works, the custom of a jury should be dispensed with, while
others were in favor of having the entries rigidly judged in order to insure proper selection.
Kandinsky, Kubin, Marc, and Gabriele Münter in consequence announced their withdrawal
from the federation. Thus a difference of opinion and convictions was openly vented that had
existed in secret for quite a time. The members named, under the name of “Redaktion des
Blauen Reiters,” opened a separate exhibition and have since continued to work under this
banner.
The New Artists’ Federation, since its third exhibition in 1912, has held a series of
exhibits of the works of individual artists in its rooms at Munich, and its members are
represented at nearly all important exhibitions in Germany and Switzerland.[45]

The key-note of the modern movement in art is expression of self; that is,
the expression of one’s inner self as distinguished from the representation of
the outer world.
 MATISSE
Woman in Red
Madras

I have before me six of Jawlensky’s heads, painted a year or so apart.

They range from almost conventional portrait studies in strong
impressionistic manner to heads very like Matisse’s “Madras Rouge,” thence
to the head reproduced, which was the last painted.
The series shows an interesting development of the painter’s convictions,
his technic remains essentially the same, facile and competent, only the latest
picture places a much greater stress upon his resources.
It was apparent from things in his studio, canvases ten or twelve years old,
that he could have made a commercial success as a painter of portraits.

To say that Jawlensky’s latest heads with their strange, expressive,

exaggerated eyes are not wholly new one has only to turn to any work on
Greek painting wherein are reproduced some of the encaustic and tempera
portraits found in the Fayum some twenty-odd years ago.

When asked why he preferred his latest work to the earlier, Jawlensky
said:
“I have put more of myself into them; they are more expressive of what I
feel.”
And he went on to say the development seemed to him natural and logical.
He could not understand why the heads should strike others as queer or
laughable since they were the products of absolute sincerity.
Of his work a friendly critic says:
Jawlensky, formerly an officer in the Russian army, resigned a captain’s commission and
turned to painting. Today he looks back into an artistic past rich in changes and just as rich in
successes achieved. Gauguin, VanGogh and Cézanne have given much to him; more recently,
oriental and primitive art, Byzantine pictures and antique German woodcarvings have not
been without influence on him. His color is peculiarly his own, with its limpidity, its bloom,
and bold modulations, the spontaneous, expressive force of which have a most refreshing
effect. In its soft and surprising beauty one may perhaps discover a distinctly Russian quality.
It is almost an injustice toward this artist’s pictures to reproduce them colorless. His still-life
pictures excel in composition and charm by their color effects. In his landscapes a peculiar
mood finds expression, always striking, always original, and often with great simplicity and
beauty. His heads and half figures might be termed snapshots of the soul: a pose, a motion, a
glance of the eye, retained by the briefest and most effective means. Here, too, a conscious
simplifying and exaggeration becomes more and more evident. For this artist, art itself has
the grace of a gesture; the soul part immediately becomes expression, and thus is shown
everywhere the creative quality of an impulsive nature that owes its best to the inspiration of
the moment, and from it proceeds to work with a most happy facility.[46]

Marianna von Werefkin, a Russian, uses water color, gouache, and prefers
the mystery of the night to daylight. Her pictures are interesting human
documents. She does not seek startling or novel pictured effects.

There is another and almost unknown artist, P. Klee, who is very highly
esteemed by the most advanced men. There is certainly an exquisite
refinement to his line; it is so alive it scintillates.
Gabriele Münter has a vision of things quite her own, a sense of humor
and of life that penetrates beneath the surface, and that manifests itself in a
technic that is, one might say, almost nonchalant.
A. Bloch is a young American, living in Munich, who has allied himself
with the Blue Knights and made an impression by his very personal
expressions. He was given a one-man exhibition in Berlin in December last,
and his pictures were highly praised in a well-written article in the Berlin
Borsen-Courier. Absolute and unswerving fidelity to one’s ideals is the only
sure road to success, and this sort of sincerity is manifest in the work of
Bloch.
Franz Marc is in a class by himself. He is the animal painter of the Blue
Knights, and his pictures have a fairly steady sale notwithstanding they are
extreme in conception and execution. Animal forms and their phases of
composition seem to appeal to him, but he often uses the forms as arbitrarily
as Matisse uses his nudes to secure an effect of life or grace. His color is
always delightful, and there is a flow, a rhythm to his pictures that is
fascinating.
In an article in “Der Blaue Reiter” he says:
It is remarkable how spiritual acquisitions are valued so differently by men as compared
with material. If someone conquers a new colony for his country everybody applauds; if,
however, someone has the inspiration to give to mankind a new and purely spiritual value, it
is rejected with scorn and indignation, the gift is suspected, and the people try to suppress
and crush it. Is not this a frightful condition?

And speaking of the new movement in art, which he considers a spiritual

offering to the public, he says:
The public is against us, with scorn and abuse it refuses our pictures; but we may be
right. They may not want our gifts, but perhaps they cannot help accepting them. We have
the consciousness that our world of ideas is no card house with which we play, but it contains
the vital elements of a movement the vibrations of which are felt today the world over.

In the orthodox sense these men may or may not be religious—I do not
know—but one thing is certain, there is an immense amount of religious
power in their propaganda.

The most extreme man not only of Munich but of the entire modern art
movement is Wassily Kandinsky, also a Russian.
There was one of his Improvisations in the International Exhibition.[47]
It did not hang with the Cubists, not even in the large room with Matisse
and other radical men. Evidently those in charge of the hanging did not know
what to make of it or what to do with it, so they side-tracked it on a wall that
was partly in shadow. Visitors who paused to look at it dismissed it as
meaningless splotches of paint, and passed on.
There is this to be said for the public, that with no word of explanation
one of Kandinsky’s Improvisations does seem—at first glance—the last word
in extravagance; on fourth or fifth glance it appears to have a charm of color
that is fascinating; on study it begins to sound like color music.

There were three of his canvases in the London Exhibition in Albert Hall
in July, 1913, “Landscape with Two Poplars,” “Improvisation No. 29,” and
“Improvisation No. 30,” the last reproduced herein in color.
Of these three paintings a critic said:[48]
By far the best pictures there seemed to me to be the three works by Kandinsky. They are
of peculiar interest, because one is a landscape in which the disposition of the forms is
clearly prompted by a thing seen, while the other two are improvisations. In these the forms
and colors have no possible justification, except the rightness of their relations. This, of
course, is really true of all art, but where representation of natural form comes in, the senses
are apt to be tricked into acquiescence by the intelligence. In these improvisations, therefore,
the form has to stand the test without any adventitious aids. It seemed to me that they did
this, and established their right to be what they were. In fact, these seemed to me the most
complete pictures in the exhibition, to be those which had the most definite and coherent
expressive power. Undoubtedly representation, besides the evocative power which it has
through association of ideas,
 KANDINSKY
Improvisation No. 29

has also a value in assisting us to coordinate forms, and, until Picasso and Kandinsky tried to
do without it, this function at least was always regarded as a necessity. That is why of the
three pictures by Kandinsky, the landscape strikes one most at first. Even if one does not
recognize it as a landscape, it is easier to find one’s way about in it, because the forms have
the same sort of relations as the forms of nature, whereas in the two others there is no
reminiscence of the general structure of the visible world. The landscape is easier, but that is
all. As one contemplates the three, one finds that after a time the improvisations become
more definite, more logical and more closely knit in structure, more surprisingly beautiful in
their color oppositions, more exact in their equilibrium. They are pure visual music.

People who do not find a picture turn away disappointed and irritated, but
many turn back to look again, attracted by the strength and charm of the
compositions, and in the end not a few reluctantly concede, “Yes, they have
fine color, but—” and then follows the old demand for some familiar object
as anchorage.

Of Kandinsky’s qualifications from the academic point of view let it be

said he is a superb draftsman, though he no longer attaches any importance to
drawing per se; and he is a master of color combinations.
One would say that the two, mastery of drawing and mastery of color,
would make a great painter, and so they did and do.
I have at hand some of his earlier work along conventional lines, and I
have seen tempera drawings of Moroccan scenes that would delight a
Whistler, they are so delicate and so filled with subtle charm. Then I have a
series of sketches, extending over a number of years, which show the
development of his later works.

He has explained his theories at length in his book, “Ueber das Geistege in
der Kunst,”[49] and in numerous articles, notably in “Der Blaue Reiter.”
The keynote of the entire modern movement is found in the first sentence
of his book,
“Every work of art is the child of its own times.”
A man may so steep himself in history and tradition that all he does is
reminiscent of the past, but such work marks no progress and such men are
negligible factors in the advancement of mankind.
It is the man who yields himself to his times, who absorbs all there is of
good in the life about him, who sees everything, feels everything, who
mingles with his respect for the achievements of the past a mighty admiration
for the triumphs of the present—such a man is a leader among his fellows;
brilliant thinker, daring adventurer, he blazes the way for the timid to follow.
If we were Greeks of the fifth century we would carve the marbles they
did. If we were Romans under the Caesars we would build the buildings they
built. If we were Christians of the middle ages we would rear cathedrals. If
we were English, French, German, Chinese, or Japanese, we would do the
things they do, like the things they like. But we are none of these peoples; we
are Americans living in an age of steam and electricity, of automobiles and
aeroplanes, in an age of kaleidoscopic changes, of marvelous and startling
developments.
What must happen in painting, music, sculpture?
Exactly what has happened in architecture.
Painting, music, sculpture that will go with our mighty steel buildings,
with our factories and railroads.
Painting, music, sculpture varied in form, as old and as new as the brain of
man can conceive, but always and essentially our own. That is the secret, it
must be characteristic of our age—our own.

This is not a placid age.

It is an age of feverish activities, brilliant imaginings, profound emotions.
Hence our art will not be placid, but will be an art of the imagination and
the emotions.
Venturesome souls will not be content to paint things, or even people, but
they will paint themselves, not their outer selves, but their inner; they will put
on canvas what they feel. That is as near the final word in art as man can utter
—to paint instead of speak his most subtle emotions.

In a recent article[50] Kandinsky summarises part of his theory as follows:

A work of art consists of two elements, the inner and the outer.
The inner is the emotion in the soul of the artist. This emotion has the
power to arouse a similar feeling in the soul of the observer.
The soul being connected with the body it is affected through the medium
of the senses—feelings; emotions are stirred and aroused by sensations.
Hence our sensations are the bridge, the physical connection between the
immaterial, the emotion in the soul of the artist, to the material, resulting in
the production of the work of art.
And again the sensations are the bridge from the material, the artist, and
his work, to the immaterial, emotion in the soul of the observer.
The sequence is, emotion (in artist)—sensations—work—sensations—
emotion (in observer).
The two emotions will be like and equal to the extent the work is
successful. In this respect a painting is no different from a song, each is a
message; the successful singer succeeds in arousing in his hearers the
emotions he feels; the successful painter should do no less.
The inner element, emotion, must exist, else the work will be a sham. The
inner element determines the character of the work.
In order that the inner element which at first exists only as an emotion,
may develop into work, the second element—the outer is used as the
embodiment. Therefore emotion is always seeking means of expression,
seeking a material form, a form that can stir the senses.[51]
The vital, the determining element is the inner, that controls the outer
form, even as the idea in the mind determines the words we use, and not the
words the idea.
Therefore the selection of the form of a work of art is determined by the
inner irresistible force—this is the only unchangeable law of art.
A beautiful work is the product of the harmonious cooperation of the two
elements, the inner and outer. A painting, for instance, is an intellectual
organism which, like every material organism, consists of many parts.
These single parts, if isolated, are as lifeless as a finger severed from the
hand.
The single parts live only through the whole.
The endless number of single parts in a painting is divided into two
groups:
1. The designed form.
2. The picturesque form.

An examination of a work of art, especially a painting,

VAN GOGH
Woman with Frying
Pan
 VAN GOGH
Chair with Pipe

usually discovers the presence of parts and forms drawn from nature, from
objects.
As the imitation of natural forms forms no part of the definition of pure art
how is it these objective representations creep in?
The origin of painting was the same as that of the other arts, and of every
human action. It was purely practical.
If a native hunter chases game for days, he is induced to do so by hunger.
If today a princely hunter chases game, he is induced to do so by the
desire for enjoyment. Just as hunger is of bodily value, here the enjoyment is
of aesthetic value.
If a savage requires artificial sounds for his dance, he is induced thereto
by sexual impulse. The artificial sounds, from which through centuries the
music of today developed, moved savages to an expression of passion in the
form of dancing.
If the man of today attends a concert he is not seeking the music for
practical results, but pleasure.
Also here the original practical motive changed to the aesthetic. That
means that also here the practical want of the body changed to that of the
soul.
During this progress toward refinement (or spirituality) of the most simple
practical (or bodily) wants, two consequences are to be noticed throughout:
The separation of the spiritual from the bodily element and its further
independent development through the different arts.
Here the above mentioned laws (of the inner element and the form)
gradually apply with ever increasing force, until finally out of each art comes
a pure art.
This is a steady, logical, natural growth, like the growth of a tree.
The process is to be noticed in painting.
First period, Origin: Practical desire to make use of physical.
Second Period, Development: The gradual separation of this practical
purpose, and the gradual ascendancy of the spiritual element.
 Third Period, Aim: The attainment of a higher stage in pure art; in this the
remains of the practical desire are totally separated (abstracted). Pure art
speaks from soul to soul, it is not dependent upon the use of objective and
imitative forms.
We can distinguish all of these three stages in various combinations in
paintings of today.
First Period: Realistic Painting. The realism here is understood to be such
as developed traditionally into the nineteenth century—the practical desire to
exhibit objective realities—portraits, landscapes, historical paintings, etc., in
the direct sense.
Second Period: Naturalistic Paintings in the form of Impressionism, of
the New Impressionism and Expressionism—to which partly Cubism and
Futurism belongs: The separation of the practical aim and the general
preponderance of the spiritual element; from Impressionism through Neo-
Impressionism to Expressionism always increasing separation and always
increasing preponderance of the spiritual.
Apparently in this finer development nature as such is no more taken into
consideration; but this is only “apparently” so, for as a matter of fact nature is
used as a motive, a background, a basis for the pictures, and if the attempt is
made to separate the natural or objective part of the picture from the purely
artistic, the result is the picture falls for lack of support.

In other words, in most of even the very abstract paintings, such as even
Picasso’s, there is a foundation, a background of objects without which the
pictures would not exist.
Picasso may refine a “Woman with a Mandolin,” to a dozen intersecting
lines that disclose neither woman nor mandolin, but both were present in his
mind’s eye when he created his work, and without them the work has no
reason for existing.
It is here that one begins to understand Kandinsky’s attitude, and how
diametrically he diverges from Picasso. The two have nothing in common
save the desire to produce more abstract art, but Picasso abstractions are
based on the outer world, while Kandinsky’s are based on the inner.
When Picasso has refined nature, that is, things outside him, to the last
degree, to the simplest mode of expression in line and mass, he has reached
an impasse, further progress is impossible, further scientific subdivision in
unattainable, his art in that direction is finished.
But Kandinsky has before him an unlimited view. With him the
elimination of nature, of all things physical from his compositions, simply
gives him greater freedom in the painting of compositions representing things
—moods—spiritual.

To go on with his own explanation, not in his exact words, but in

substance:
It is thus seen that in both the first and second signs in the development of
art, the objective foundation or background is not of simply secondary
importance, but of first; it is essential because without it the work would not
exist.
To create pure art it is necessary to eliminate this background of the
physical, and substitute for it pure artistic form, which alone can give the
picture independent life.
This step we find in the dawning third period of painting—Compositional
painting.
According to the scheme of the three periods, we have arrived at the third
one—which was designated as the Aim.
In the compositional painting which is developing today we see the signs
of the attainment of the higher step of pure art, in which the remains of the
practical desire (all evidences of objectivity) can be perfectly separated,
which can speak from soul to soul in purely artistic language.
The conscious and oftentimes also still unconscious striving, which
strongly (and ever stronger) shows itself today, to replace the objective
(subject paintings) by pure construction (pure composition) is the first sign of
the dawning of that pure art to which the past art periods inevitably led.
I have been trying to briefly deal with the entire development and more especially the
situation today in broad schematic outlines; therefore there are many deficiencies (gaps)
which necessarily remain uncovered, and there are passed over many interesting lesser
developments, which are inevitable in progress, like smaller branches on the tree, which
extend outward notwithstanding the tree’s growth upward.
The further development, which is pending in painting, will still have to suffer many
seeming contradictions and diversions, as was the case with music, which today we know
already as pure art.
 The past teaches us that the development of humanity consists in the increasing
spirituality of various factors. Among these factors art takes the first place.
Among the arts painting is following the road that leads it from the practical-efficiency
to the intellectual-efficiency. From the subject-picture to the pure composition.

To better understand the foregoing take the “Improvisation No. 30.”[52]

It is a very pure example of compositional painting, but it
 KANDINSKY
Improvisation No. 30

is not absolutely pure, in that it contains many more or less obvious

suggestions of familiar forms and objects.
Some workmen who happened to be handling the painting, referred to it
as the “War Picture,” and many casual observers insist it is an impression of
war or of a battle field.
 This is because two cannon are quite plain in the lower right-hand corner,
and the two oblong blue masses projecting from the cannons’ mouths would
seem to be the smoke of the discharges.
Then, too, the seeming cataclysmic effect, the suggestion of a helmet, a
tottering tower, banners, aerial flashes or fireworks, all accentuate the
impression of conflict and explosions.
If one looks long enough in this mood it is not difficult to read into the
canvas all sorts of interpretations of a warlike character.
Yet the painting was “improvised”—composed with no direct intention of
suggesting war.
In his own personal note book wherein he keeps a record of all his work,
Kandinsky identifies the picture by a hasty pencil sketch and the words,
“Blue Splashes,” or “Masses,” and “Cannons.”
Of the painting he says in a letter:
The designation “Cannons,” selected by me for my own use, is not to be conceived as
indicating the “contents” of the picture.
These contents are indeed what the spectator lives, or feels while under the effect of the
form and color combinations of the picture. This picture is nearly in the shape of a cross. The
centre—somewhat below the middle—is formed by a large, irregular blue plane. (The blue
color in itself counteracts the impression caused by the cannons!) Below this centre there is a
muddy-gray, ragged second centre almost equal in importance to the first one. The four
corners extending the oblique cross into the corners of the picture are heavier than the two
centres, especially heavier than the first, and they vary from each other in characteristics, in
lines, contours, and colors.
Thus the picture becomes lighter, or looser in the centre, and heavier, or tighter towards
the corners.
The scheme of the construction is thus toned down, even made invisible for many, by the
looseness of the forms. Larger or smaller remains of objectivity (the cannons, for instance)
produce in the spectator that secondary tone which objects call forth in all who feel.
The presence of the cannons in the picture could probably be explained by the constant
war talk that had been going on throughout the year. But I did not intend to give a
representation of war; to do so would have required different pictorial means; besides, such
tasks do not interest me—at least not just now.
This entire description is chiefly an analysis of the picture which I have painted rather
subconsciously in a state of strong inner tension. So intensively did I feel the necessity of
some of the forms, that I remember having given loud voiced directions to myself, as for
instance: “But the corners must be heavy!” In such cases it is of importance exactly to
discern all things, the weight, for instance, by the feeling. Generally speaking, I might almost
declare that where the feeling that lies in the soul, in the eye, and in the hand is strong
enough to faultlessly determine the finest measurements and weights, “schematism” and the
much-dreaded “consciosity” will not become dangerous. On the contrary, in this case, the
said elements will even prove immeasurably beneficial.
I would that all my pictures might be judged exclusively from this point of view, and that
the non-essentials might completely disappear from the judgment.

In subsequent letters he said:

Whatever I might say about myself or my pictures can touch the pure artistic meaning
only superficially. The observer must learn to look at the picture as a graphic representation
of a mood and not as a representation of objects.

All that anyone can say about pictures, and what I might say myself, can touch the
contents, the pure artistic meaning, of a picture only superficially. Each spectator for himself
must learn to view the picture solely as a graphic representation of a mood, passing over as
unimportant such details as representations or suggestions of natural objects. This the
spectator can do after a time, and where one can do it, many can.

Given a work of art, painting, sculpture, music—anything—its

appreciation and understanding depend upon the attitude of the audience.
A work of art may be, and ultimately must be viewed from two very
different points of view—the point of view of the artist, and the point of view
of the observer.
The great majority of people view a painting only from the latter point of
view, only in the light of their preconceived notions and prejudices—hence
the ridicule of the strange and the protest against the new.
A very, very small minority—a minority so small it numbers scarce one in
ten thousand—view a new work searchingly and at the same time
sympathetically from the artist’s point of view, seeking diligently to find out
what he is trying to do, and not permitting a single prejudice or preconceived
notion of their own to bias their judgment.
After this class of observers have ascertained what the artist intended,
then, and not until then, do they turn and view the work from their own point
of view—that is, in the light of their own likes and dislikes.
Their final appreciation may be that granting the theories of the artist the
picture is a fine one, but they do not agree with the artist’s theories, hence the
picture from their point of view is a failure as a work of art.
 To rightly view a work of art is an act of creation; the true observer is a
painter; the true reader is a poet.

It is not at all strange that the great majority referred to should resent
Kandinsky’s improvisations, for they are not easy to understand, though most
of them are undeniably fascinating in color.
It is not even strange that a large percentage of the intelligent and
sympathetic minority should finally reach the
conclusion that the theories of the artist are not sound, and therefore all his work based on
his extreme theories fails as art work, but the attitude of this fraction of the minority is an
attitude of intelligent and conscientious conviction, reached after long and impartial
investigation, while the attitude of the great majority is that of impulsive ignorance and
irritation, reached on first impression and without the slightest attempt at understanding.

To illustrate: The great majority of people on first hearing Chinese music

exclaim, “What a horrid din!” and turn away.
A very, very small minority, about one man in a million, say, “True, it
sounds to us like a din, but to a people of extraordinary civilization it is
music; the matter is worth investigating,” and on investigation it would be
found that Chinese music from time immemorial has been under state
supervision.[53]
The very ancient scale was pentatonic—five tones. It was in the seventh
century, B.C., that the Asiatic flute was introduced into Greece and the Greek
Doric scale transformed into one of five tones.[54]
Among the more cultivated nations, the Chinese, and Celts of Scotland and Ireland still
retain the scale of five notes without semitones, although both have become acquainted with
the complete scale of seven tones.
The division of the octave into twelve semitones, and the transposition of scales have
also been discovered by this intelligent and skilful nation.
But, generally speaking, both the Gaels and the Chinese, notwithstanding their
acquaintance with the modern tonal system, hold fast by the old. And it cannot be denied that
by avoiding the semitones
GAUGUIN
Portrait of Self
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