Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) a Russian painter and art theorist was one of the first artists to move into non-objective painting. He based his content on emotions and used his materials to trigger like-minded response from those viewing it.
He took what once had been material subjects for a painting, such as a motif from nature or, as the Impressionists did, painting a perception and moved on to painting the absence of object, subject or representation. Kandinsky focused primarily on spiritual reality he termed “pure painting”. His art is non-objective abstract art that conveys universal emotion or ideas. He felt it his mission to share this ideal with the world for the betterment of society.
As a spiritual, intuitive creator he experimented and investigated all the tools, finally coming to a whole new form of abstract art.
After reading several books about Kandinsky and learning about his development, I zeroed in on his theoretical writing concerning the spiritual side of art. In my own simple understanding, he defines three types of painting: impressions, improvisations and compositions. He compares the spiritual world to a pyramid with the artist having the responsibility to lead others to the top through their art. The theories are very interesting and go into the physical and spiritual effects of colors which I found fascinating. Of course there were others who had written about color theory, such as Johann Goethe who wrote “Theory of Colors” in 1810. I read there also was a possibility that Kandinsky had some form of autism that might have contributed to his artistic abilities.
Although I wasn’t impressed with his personal life choices, I did admire his dedication to his art and his exploration of theories. An updated version of his book is available if not at your local library, then on www.bookdepository.com. In fact, they have many different books covering Kandinsky at reasonable prices and they even carry stickers and cards with Kandinsky art.
There are many online resources if you’re interested in reading about Kandinsky here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wassily_Kandinsky
https://www.theartstory.org/artist/kandinsky-wassily/
https://www.wassilykandinsky.net/painting1896-1944.php
https://www.wikiart.org/en/wassily-kandinsky
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/488319
***
“Vasily Kandinsky” by Thomas M. Messer, 1997 Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers, NY
“Kandinsky: The Journey to Abstraction”, 2007 Taschen, CA
“Kandinsky: The Path to Abstraction”, 2006 Tate Publishing, London
katieturnerartblog 