KANDINSKY

Overthecourseofhisartisticcareer,WassilyKandinsky(1866–1944)transformednotonlyhisownstyle,butthecourseofarthistory.Fromearlyfigurativeandlandscapepainting,hewentontopioneeraspiritual,emotive,rhythmicuseofcolorandlineandistodaycreditedwithcreatingthefirstpurelyabstractwork.Asmuchateacherandtheoristashewasapracticingartist,Kandinsky'sinterestsinmusic,theater,poetry,philosophy,ethnology,myth,andtheoccult,wereallessentialcomponentstohispaintingandengraving.HewasinvolvedwithboththeinfluentialBlaueReiterandBauhausgroupsandleftalegacynotonlyofdazzlingvisualwork,butalsoofhighlyinfluentialtreatisessuchasConcerningtheSpiritualInArt.Keytenetsincludedtheconnectionsbetweenpainting,musicandmysticalexperience,andthepurificationofartawayfrommaterialrealismandtowardsanemotionalexpression,condensedinparticularbycolor.ThisbookpresentskeyKandinskyworkstointroducehisrepertoireofvividcolors,forms,andfeelings.Tracingtheartist'sradicalstylisticdevelopment,itshowshowonepainter'sprogressionpavedthewayforgenerationsofabstractexpressiontocome.