* Founding Father of Abstract Art *

Russian-born, French Impressionist Painter

Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the
hand that plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul.
-Wassily Kandinsky
"Every work of art is the child of its age and, in many cases, the mother of our emotions. It follows that each period of culture produces an art of its own which can never be
repeated." (from On the Spiritual in Art)

"The true work of art is born from the 'artist': a mysterious, enigmatic, and mystical creation. It detaches itself from him, it acquires an
autonomous life, becomes a personality, an independent subject, animated with a spiritual breath, the living subject of a real existence of being."

ovement, Style, School or Type of Art:

Der Blaue Reiter > Bauhaus

Date and Place of Birth:

December 4, 1866, Moscow

Life:

Often called the "Father of Abstract Art," Kandinsky trained as a lawyer in his native Russia, but discovered his true calling was in art. He and his wife moved to
Germany, where he studied art while Mrs. Kandinsky filed for divorce. He went on to found the group Der Blaue Reiter and taught at the Bauhaus, always writing
prolifically on the connections between art, music and spirituality (and found time to marry again). Much of his work was destroyed, as "degenerate," by the Nazi
party.

Important Works:

• Sketch for Composition II, 1909-10

• Composition IV, 1911
• With Black Arch, 1912
• Contrasting Sounds, 1924

Date and Place of Death:

December 13, 1944, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France

 Biography:
Wassily Kandinsky was born in Moscow, on December 4th, 1866. His parents both played piano, so he was encouraged to learn
how to read and play music at an early age. Young Kandinsky played cello and piano, and even though we know him best as a painter, music
has always been the main inspiration behind his work. When he was only 5 years old,, his parents divorced, so he moved in with his aunt in
Odessa, continuing to play music, and learning to paint; but the gifted young man did not choose to study art or music when he later
enrolled at Moscow University, choosing instead the "safer" fields of Economics, Politics, and Law. During his years at the university,
Kandinsky explore spirituality through writing. He also taught at the Moscow Faculty of Law. For Kandinsky, the arts were no more than a
hobby.

It wasn't until 1896 that Kandinsky decided to seriously study art. The sudden change in his life had been triggered by his interest in
the work of Monet, an artist who's work has had a profound impact on many others. Kandinsky was fascinated by the impressionist artist's
style, as he had never before seen paintings which weren't meant to perfectly imitate reality. Kandinsky studied in Munich, under Anton
Azbé, sketching, anatomy and life drawing. He then studied under Franz von Stuck, then moved on to found and the avant-garde Phalanx
exhibiting society, and write about art. His administrative skills served him well as director of the Phalanx exhibiting society, while his
writings about spirituality had prepared him for his works about color theory.

Kandinsky was a Synesthete meaning that he could see sound as color, and vice versa. His writings on color theory sometimes
,

bordered on the mystical, as his own interpretations and visual impressions took on almost paranormal qualities. In 1906, Kandinsky
settled in Paris with his mistress, and Gabriele Münter, who was also a talented art student. A year later, the two were separated, and
Kandinsky suffered a nervous breakdown, and relocated to Bavaria, so he could lead a quiet life, and concentrate on his art. Kandinsky
experimented with color and minimal composition, eschewing reality from his work. Like music, his paintings were renderings of emotional
states, and while it is easy to feel sadness when looking at an image of a tragic scene, Kandinsky's work would communicate the same
feelings without incorporating representational elements.

Kandinsky returned to Munich in 1908, bristling with creative energy. A year later, he founded the New Artists Association of
Munich, and creating many abstract glass paintings based on musical elements. He also published another book on Spirituality, this time in
relation to art, and he wrote several plays and poems. Along with New Artists Association, Kandinsky was also a member of the Blaue Reiter
(a.k.a. Blue Rider), which he founded with fellow artist Franz Marc, and was also a member of the Bauhaus movement with composer
Arnold Schoenberg and Paul Klee. Kandinsky was involved in many movements, learning and experimenting with words, music, and
painting.