Wassily Kandinsky

Kandinsky was born in Moscow, Russia in 1866 and spent his childhood in Odessa. At an early age he became an accomplished musician playing the piano and cello. This influenced his paintings with titles such as Improvisations, Impressions and Compositions. Trained in law and economics, Kandinsky continued an academic career at Moscow University until he attended a French Impressionist exhibition where he saw Monet's Haystacks at Giverny. The impact of this exhibition lead Kandinsky, aged 30, to Munich to study life drawing. His work moved past impressionism into abstraction and explored the link between colour and musical harmony. Kandinsky is considered the founder of abstract art. His work was exhibited through out Europe from 1903 and later in US, often causing controversy. In 1933 he settled near Paris where he had a following of young talented artists. He continued painting until near his death in 1944. His unrelenting quest for new forms carried him to the very extremes of geometric abstraction and have provided us with an unparalleled collection of abstract art.