Wassily Kandinsky, born in 1866, was a Russian painter. He’s considered to be one of the pioneers of modern abstract art. Kandinsky believed that copying from nature for his art only interfered with his process and that complete abstraction gave him the freedom for transcendental expression.
Kandinsky learned to play musical instruments from a young age and it was one of his music teachers who introduced him to drawing. When speaking about this time in his life, Kandinsky says that drawing and painting lifted him out of reality.
Kandinsky came from a wealthy family with a businessman as a father, and as such, his parents decided Kandinsky should be a lawyer. He graduated from the University of Moscow with honors and went on to become a docent at the same university.
In 1896, at the age of 30, Kandinsky was appointed Professor of Law at Dorpat University. It was at the same time that Kandinsky decided to abandon his successful career in law and become an artist. Kandinsky identified 2 events that influenced this decision. The first was an exhibition of the French Impressionists he visited in Moscow. The second was a set of plays he watched at the Bolshoi Theater.
He decided to move to Munich, a city he believed was the hub of art in Europe, to take up art classes at various institutions. He then traveled extensively around Europe for five years, exhibiting his work along the way, before returning to settle in Bavaria.
After the outbreak of World War I in 1914, Kandinsky returned to Moscow, where he helped to establish the Museum of the Culture of Painting. In 1920 Kandinsky moved back to Germany where he taught at the Bauhaus until its closure in 1933.
He then moved to France where he spent the rest of his days while making some of his most prominent art. He died three days short of his 78th birthday in 1944.
1. Blue Rider
The Blue Rider is an oil painting executed in Bavaria in 1903 by the Russian emigré artist Wassily Kandinsky.
2. Black and Violet
The Black and Violet painting ranges among Wassily’s most important works in the year 1923.
3. Composition X
Composition X is an abstract oil painting executed in 1939 by the artist Wassily Kandinsky.
4. Moscow I
In the year 1916 Kandinsky creates an image of the center of Moscow, one of his favorite cities.
5. On White II
On White II was produced in the year 1923 by Wassily Kandinsky. He used color to represent more than just shapes and figures in his paintings.
6. Comet
Kandinsky created Comets in 1938 for Verve Magazine in post-Impressionism style.
7. Forest Edge
‘Forest edge’ was created in c.1903 by Wassily Kandinsky in the Post-Impressionism style.
8. The Golden Sail
The golden sail’ was created in 1903 by Wassily Kandinsky in Expressionism style. The detail of this artwork is essentially drawn from an overall black background, with each line creating a form of its own.
9. Farewell
‘Farewell’ was created in 1903 by Wassily Kandinsky in Expressionism style.
10. The Singer
‘The singer’ was created in 1903 by Wassily Kandinsky in Expressionism style.