“I can almost hear a cacophony of sound emanating from the canvas”

For this project I’ve collaborated with Russian artist and art theorist Wassily Kandinsky, who is
most famous for his abstract paintings, inspired by music which his work is often named after.

Born in 1866 and moved to Odessa in 1871, Kandinsky early influence into his
style started from music, as from an early age he learned to play the cello and
piano as well as taking up drawing practice with a coach. He originally studied
to be a lawyer in 1886, however in 1897 decided to study art
instead at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts for 3 years before
lecturing at the university and then eventually starting an artist
group with some other students called Phalanx in 1901, that
aimed to teach a non academic style of painting as well as
collecting and displaying art that represented the other direction
such as impressionism, symbolism and jugendstil. However the
group only lasted three years, as Kandinsky couldn’t invigorate
enough enthusiasm in society in what he was interested in to
fuel the galleries, and so closed the group in 1904. But thanks to
the group, it opens communication for Kandinsky with artists
such as Alfred Кubin and Stefan George as well as a new style for
Kandinsky to search for, along with his new expressive means of
Fig 1, Wassily Kandinsky, (2018) carving wood. His new search for style would eventually lead hi Fig 2, The Blue Rider, (1911)
to create his most famous piece “The Blue Rider” (1911)

His style is very emotional, and Kandinsky never drew from nature but instead from his emotions.
He found art to be an spiritual and emotional experience that he expressed through the various
colours and shapes in his work. His strongest influence comes however from music, with the
most prominent being the Richard Wagner's opera, Lohengrin that
inspired him to quit being a lawyer and pursue a career in art. His
influence came from the emotion that become provoked from the
music, claiming that he could see lines and shapes when hearing the
music, with some even theorising that Kandinsky experience
Synesthesia; a condition where one senses (such as hearing) is
simultaneously perceived as if by another additional sense; such as
sight, o for Kandinsky, it could be that he either experienced lines and
colours while listening to music or seeing colours produced the music
itself.

Fig 3, Composition VIII, But his work is often very precise with its usage of colours as well, as
(1923) Kandinsky believed that colours could affect mood, a theory that embodies the
core theory of modern art, and also appears in his book “Concerning the
Spiritual in Art” which explores colour and its affects on the human emotion.
The colours he placed within his work evoked the mood that he
wanted to portray, such as warm colours like red, yellow, and
orange an be seen as lively and harsh, while the cool colours -
green, blue (a colour which he favoured a lot in his work), and
purple, can be seen as peaceful and sombre.

Fig 4, Composition, (2017)

 Illustrative Bibliography

Fig 1, Wassily Kandinsky, (2018), [Online Image], URL: https://

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassily_Kandinsky, (Accessed: 29/10/18)

Fig 2, The Blue Rider, (1911), [Online Image], URL: https://

www.wassilykandinsky.net/blauereiter.php, (Accessed: 29/10/18)

Fig 3, Composition VIII, (1923), [Online Image], URL: https://

www.wassilykandinsky.net/work-50.php, (Accessed: 29/10/18)

Fig 4, Composition, (2017), [Online Image], URL: https://

fineartamerica.com/featured/3-composition-wassily-
kandinsky.html, (Accessed: 29/10/18)