Wassily Kandinsky

Wassily Kandinsky was one of the most significant artists and art theorists of the 20th century. The Expressionist was a pioneer of non-representational art and considered himself the creator of the first abstract picture. For Kandinsky, colours did not only harbour optic, but also acoustic stimuli; he assigned forms, sounds and even smells to them. He divided the works that he made on this basis in three groups: 'Improvisations', 'Impressions' and 'Compositions'. Kandinsky was a founder-member of the group 'Der Blaue Reiter', and he spent many busy summer months with Gabriele Münter and the Munich artist colleagues Alexej von Jawlensky, Marianne von Werefkin, Franz Marc and August Macke in the Upper Bavarian town of Murnau. Later, he lectured at the Bauhaus and formed the group 'Die Blaue Vier' together with Alexej von Jawlensky, Paul Klee and Lyonel Feininger. Kandinsky's works are represented in the world's leading museums; the largest collection of his works can be found in the Guggenheim Museum in New York.