BORN IN Moscow, Kandinsky trained as a lawyer, but
turned to art after visiting an exhibition of Monet’s work. He
moved to Munich, where he studied under Franz von Stuck. Here, he
demonstrated his talent for organizing groups of artists, when he
founded influential Der Blaue Reiter (‘The Blue Rider’), an
association of Expressionist artists, which included Franz Marc, August
Macke and Paul Klee.
Kandinsky’s personal style went through many
phases, ranging from Jugenstil (the German equivalent of Art Nouveau)
to Fauvism and Expressionism. He is most celebrated, however, for his
advances towards abstraction.
This came about after he returned to his studio
one evening, and was enchanted by a picture he did not recognize. It
turned out to be one of his own paintings lying on its side. Kandinsky
immediately realized that subject matter lessened the impact of his
pictures, and he strove to remove this from future compositions.
In later life, Kandinsky taught at the Bauhaus,
until it was closed down by the Nazis in 1933. He spent his final years
in France, becoming a French citizen in 1939.
Excerpt from Art. The World of Art, from
Aboriginal to American Pop, Renaissance Masters to Postmodernism.
