Studia Humanitatis (Apr 2022)
Wassily Kandinsky and birth of abstract art in Munich in the 1910s
Abstract
Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) is credited as one of the pioneers of abstraction in western art. His creation of abstract work followed a long period of development of creative thought, based on his artistic experiences. Kandinsky was a pioneer, and all forms of abstract painting there is scarcely one that he himself did not initiate and experiment with. Wassily Kandinsky was progressing from lyrical outbursts of colour, a symbiosis of poems and paintings to a simple flawless architectural organization and a rigorous form. Kandinsky’s work steadily and harmoniously gathered and spiritual power until it rose at last to a great cosmic synthesis. In this article we will analyse the emergence of abstract art in the period 1910-1914 and Wassily Kandinsky’s influence on that process. Among other things through an analysis of a group of artists “Der Blaue Reiter” (The Blue Rider) including Wassily Kandinsky, August Macke, Paul Klee, and Franz Marc. Wassily Kandinsky was a kind of original source and inspiration for modern art, and he never felt himself bound by a rigid discipline, but aimed at extending the field of art to include all orders of knowledge.
