Kandinsky achieved pure abstraction by replacing the castles and hilltop towers of his early landscapes with stabs of paint or, as he saw them, musical notes and chords that would visually “sing” together.

Modern art

Painting

While Kandinsky created colorful compositions, his signatures were usually applied with black paint or pencil. He would sign in a lower corner of the composition in a rather indiscreet manner.

Dece

The outbreak of World War I in 1914 led to the dissolution of Der Blaue Reiter, but, despite their short tenure, the group initiated and deeply inspired the highly influential German Expressionist style. After Germany declared war on Russia, Kandinsky was forced to leave the country.

Wassily Kandinsky, Russian in full Vasily Vasilyevich Kandinsky, (born December 4 [December 16, New Style], 1866, Moscow, Russia—died December 13, 1944, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France), Russian-born artist, one of the first creators of pure abstraction in modern painting.

The cool colors (green, blue, and purple) are considered more peaceful and subdued. Kandinsky was especially fond of blue. He also discussed the neutrals (black, gray, and white).

What factors led Kandinsky to arrive at non-representational painting? Kandinsky was inspired by the spiritual ideals of Theosophy, which emphasized the individual’s connectedness to the universe. He used an abstract vocabulary to portray the abstract qualities of spirituality.

The pictures of houses and forests that he created there were still influenced by the folk art of his Russian home, but were already characterized by brilliant colors. Supposedly, Kandinsky took up abstract art because he spotted a picture in his studio during twilight.

Wassily Kandinsky

Expressionism, artistic style in which the artist seeks to depict not objective reality but rather the subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse within a person.