Wassily Kandinsky

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Vassily Kandinsky, 1908 - Munich-Schwabing with the Church of St-Ursula

Wassily Kandinsky, 1903, The Blue Rider (Der Blaue Reiter), oil on canvas, 52.1 x 54.6 cm, Stiftung Sammlung E.G. Bührle, Zurich

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Vassily Kandinsky, 1901 - Akhtyrka

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Kandinsky Sunday

Kandinsky - Lied (Chanson), 1906

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Wassily Kandinsky - Reitendes Paar - GMS 26 - Lenbachhaus

Wassily Kandinsky (16 December 1866 – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter and art theorist, who is generally considered one of the pioneers of abstract art. Throughout his career, Kandinsky was fascinated with the relationship between art and spiritual life, leading him to create some of the first purely abstract works in the history of modern art. His theoretical writings on color and form had a profound impact on the development of abstract art in the 20th century.

Early Life and Education

Wassily Kandinsky was born in Moscow, Russia, into a well-to-do family. From a young age, he was exposed to a rich cultural environment, including music, which would have a lasting influence on his artistic development. Despite showing an early interest in art, Kandinsky pursued legal and economic studies at the University of Moscow, where he graduated with honors. It was not until the age of 30 that Kandinsky decided to abandon his career in law and move to Munich to attend art school.

Artistic Career

In Munich, Kandinsky was influenced by the works of Impressionists and the Art Nouveau movement. However, he soon began to develop his own artistic style, which sought to express inner emotional and spiritual states rather than depict the external world. This led him to experiment with abstract forms and vibrant colors, culminating in what is considered the first abstract painting in 1911.

Kandinsky's theoretical work, On the Spiritual in Art (1911), argued that art should convey the inner necessity of the artist and evoke a spiritual response in the viewer. This text became a foundational work for abstract art and influenced many other artists of the time.

During World War I, Kandinsky returned to Russia, where he was involved in art education and museum reform. However, the restrictive artistic climate in Soviet Russia led him to move to Germany in 1921, where he taught at the Bauhaus until it was closed by the Nazis in 1933. Kandinsky then moved to France, where he lived and worked until his death in 1944.

Legacy

Kandinsky's contribution to the development of abstract art cannot be overstated. His exploration of color theory and his philosophical writings on art's spiritual dimension influenced generations of artists, including many of the Abstract Expressionists. Today, his works are held in major museums around the world, and he is celebrated as a visionary who changed the course of modern art.

Selected Works

• Composition IV (1911)
• On White II (1923)
• Composition VI (1913)
• Composition VII (1913)
• Composition VIII (1923)

See Also

• Abstract art
• Modern art
• Bauhaus
• Color theory