Vasily Kandinsky
The Invention of Abstract Painting
In 1910–1911, a Russian painter working in Munich quietly made history: he removed the last recognizable object from his canvas and let color and form speak on their own. That painter was Vasily Kandinsky (1866–1944), and the works he produced during those years are universally recognized as the first purely abstract paintings in Western art.
Born in Moscow, Kandinsky initially pursued a conventional path. He studied law and economics, and in 1893 was offered a professorship at the University of Dorpat. Instead, at age 30, he turned down the position and moved to Munich to study painting. The decision was triggered by two experiences: seeing Monet’s Haystacks series and attending a performance of Wagner’s Lohengrin, both of which convinced him that color and sound could express inner experience more directly than literal representation.
Key milestones
- 1901–1908: Early landscapes and fairy-tale scenes rich in color, influenced by Russian folk art and Art Nouveau.
- 1910–1914: Breakthrough abstract series—Impressions, Improvisations, and Compositions.
- 1911: Publication of Concerning the Spiritual in Art, the first theoretical defense of abstraction.
- 1911–1914: Co-founder of Der Blaue Reiter group with Franz Marc and others.
- 1922–1933: Taught at the Bauhaus alongside Klee, Gropius, and Albers; developed rigorous geometric works.
- 1933–1944: Moved to Paris after the Nazis closed the Bauhaus; late paintings became lighter, biomorphic, and more playful.
Kandinsky’s core idea was simple and revolutionary: a yellow triangle, a deep blue circle, or a red square can produce a precise psychological effect independent of any object. He catalogued these effects in detail, comparing colors to musical instruments and arguing that painting should aspire to the direct emotional impact of music.
More than a century later, his paintings remain strikingly fresh, and his writings are still required reading for anyone interested in how color and form create meaning without words.
If you’d like to explore his work and ideas in depth, I’m offering a short online introduction (three 2-hour sessions.
→ Details and registration: elisabethvismans.com
No previous art experience required.
