Kandinsky, Wassily

Born in Moscow in 1866, Wassily Kandinsky was an Expressionist whose dazzling watercolors were influenced by Russian folk art and French Impressionists such as Claude Monet. His works from 1910 are considered the first abstract paintings. Kandinsky had a law career in Moscow until he opted for art school in Munich in 1896 — when he was almost 30. Within a decade he’d made a name for himself in Russia and in Europe, between 1910 and 1912 he wrote about non-objective “abstract” paintings and published On the Spiritual in Art, a work that solidified his position as the father of abstract art. Known for his ingenuity with geometric shapes and use of brilliant color, Kandinsky was successful in Europe and the United States. He spent his career in Russia (1914-21), Germany (1922-33, at the Bauhaus, alongside Paul Klee) and France. Kandinsky continued painting almost until his death in June, 1944. his unrelenting quest for new forms which carried him to the very extremes of geometric abstraction have provided us with an unparalleled collection of abstract art.