Kandinsky

Russian born painter and art theorist Wassily Kandinsky (16 Dec. 1866 – 13 Dec. 1944) is generally credited as one of the pioneers of abstract modern art. He believed that total abstraction offered the possibility for profound, transcendental and spiritual expression.

Kandinsky graduated from the Grekov Odessa Art school, before studying at the University of Moscow. It was during 1896 that Kandinsky’s artistic career really began to soar, with his enrolment at the Munich Academy of Art. He had previously worked as a teacher, specialising in economics and law, although he had always studied art and painted in his spare time.

Kandinsky’s art and ideas inspired many generations of artists, from his students at the Bauhaus, to the Abstract Expressionists after World War II.