Wassily Kandinsky is widely credited with creating the first purely abstract works in Western art, pioneering a visual language of color, form, and emotion that influenced all of modern art.
Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) is considered the father of abstract art. A Russian-born painter who spent much of his career in Germany and France, he was the first artist to systematically explore pure abstraction -- painting with no reference to the physical world.
Kandinsky believed that colors and forms could convey emotion directly, independent of representation. He developed a rich theory of color psychology, arguing that different colors evoke different spiritual and emotional responses in the viewer.
His Composition series and Improvisation paintings are landmarks of 20th-century art. At the Bauhaus school, he taught alongside Paul Klee and contributed to shaping the modern design movement that continues to influence graphic design, architecture, and visual communication today.
Major Works
- Composition VIII
- Improvisation 28
- Yellow-Red-Blue
- Squares with Concentric Circles
- Several Circles