Wassily Kandinsky - 1866-1944 (or Vasily Vasilyevich Kandinsky)
Born in Moscow and raised in a musical family, Kandinsky learned piano and cello as a child, with his music eventually becoming a strong influence on his art. Also an art theorist, he wrote about the similarities between music and painting and often chose names for his artwork based in the musical world. Kandinsky graduated with a la
...see more »w degree from the University of Moscow, successfully practiced law and even lectured at the Moscow Faculty of Law.
A pioneer of Abstract Art, Kandinsky abruptly quit his law career in 1896 to study art at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts after attending a French Impressionism exhibition in Moscow in 1895. While studying, he met and learned from other artists including Paul Klee, Anton Azbe, Alexei Jawlensky, and Gabriele Munter. His early work was more traditional, but in 1910 he produced Europe's first abstract painting, a completely non-representational watercolor. Kandinsky's work was much more abstract than any of the Impressionists with whom he had studied and from 1903 on, his work often created controversy due to its avant garde appearance and ideas.
Kandinsky was an active participant or a founding member of several of the most influential art groups of his time, including the Expressionist group, The Blue Rider (Der Blau Reiter) in 1911 and the Bauhaus in 1922. He left Germany and moved to France in 1933 when the Nazis closed the Bauhaus. There he eventually became a French citizen and further developed his controversial ideas of style and technique. In France, he was admired and sought out by many young artists such as Miro, Arp, and Tauber.
Throughout this time, Kandinsky's art was a commercial and critical success, even if controversial, with many exhibitions in the U.S. and in Europe. He was noted especially for the sense of movement within his art and his organization of space. His writings on theory and technique were also concerned with the spiritual side of art. Over his long career, Kandinsky was also associated with the Art Nouveau movement, Russian Folk Art, Fauvism, French Impressionism, Expressionism and, of course, Abstract, which he is considered to have founded. He painted 7 Compositions and 40 Improvisations from 1910-1914. His 'cool' period, from 1923-1926 included the circle series. Kandinsky's art, theories, studies and teachings continue to influence the world of art today, with his constant search for new forms of expression.
1901 The Sluice (Neue Pinakothek, Munich)
1903 The Blue Rider (Ernst Bührle Collection, Zürich)
1908 Street in Mirnau with Women (Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris)
1908 Blue Mountain (Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, New York City)
1909 Church At Murnau (Museum of Modern Art, New York City)
1909 Picture With An Archer (Museum of Modern Art, New York City)
1913 Improvisation No 30 (Art Institute of Chicago)
1913 Composition VII (Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow)
1916 The Horseman (Museum of Modern Art, New York City)
1920 White Line (Nina Kandinsky Collection)
1923 In the Black Circle (Foundation Maeght, Saint-Paul, France)
1924 Black Relationship (Museum of Modern Art, New York City)
1931 Lightly Touching (Museum of Modern Art, New York City)
1931 Soft Pressure (The Riklis Collection of McCrory Corporation, USA)
1932 White - Soft and Hard (The Riklis Collection of McCrory Corporation, USA)
1933 Round Poetry (Museum of Modern Art, New York City)
1935 Succession (Phillips Collection, Washington, DC)
1937 Tensions Relaxed (W Gidwitz Collection, Chicago)« see less
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