1. Wassily Kandinsky Russian Expressionist Artist 1866–1944

2. Wassily Kandinsky was born in December 1866 in Moscow, Russia
Wassily Kandinsky was born in December 1866 in Moscow, Russia. His father was a tea merchant and his mother was a homemaker.
At an early age, he displayed a very special gift called synesthesia. This allowed him the ability to HEAR COLOR and SEE SOUNDS. With this special gift, his father enrolled him in private drawing lessons, along with lessons for both the piano and cello.
Synesthesia is a rare but real condition in which one of your five senses, like hearing, concurrently triggers another sense, such as sight. People with synesthesia might smell something when they hear a sound, or see a shape when they eat a certain food.
Kandinsky literally saw colors when he heard music, and heard music when he painted.

3. At the age of 20, he went to University of Moscow to become a lawyer
At the age of 20, he went to University of Moscow to become a lawyer. He eventually became a faculty member at the University of Moscow. However, at the age of 30 he left his career and went to art school in Munich, Germany.
Between 1922 and 1933, geometrical elements became increasingly important to Kandinsky - particularly circles, half-circles, the angle, straight lines and curves. One of his first works to include these geometric shapes was On White II (1923).
When Nazis closed the Bauhaus school in 1933, Kandinsky moved to France. He remained there for the rest of his life.
Wassily Kandinsky died on December 13, 1944, in his studio in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.
He is recognized today as the pioneer of abstract art. His non-representational paintings paved the way for the development of the Abstract Expressionist movement that dominated American painting after World War II.
On White II, 1923

4. His early art was influence by French Impressionist artist, Claude Monet.
What are some of the similarities between Kandinsky’s and Monet’s pieces below?
Wheatstacks, 1890, Monet
Blue Rider, 1903

5. Kandinsky’s Transition from Impressionism to Abstract Art
Murnau Street With Women, 1908
Untitled (First Abstract Watercolor), 1910

6. Kandinsky’s artwork is called ABSTRACT.
His paintings are made up of different shapes and lines .
Yellow, Red, Blue, 1925

7. Color Study. Squares with Concentric Circles, 1913

8. By 1913 Kandinsky was producing some of the first completely abstract (non-representational) compositions in the history of art. They made no reference to the natural world and were inspired by pieces of music such as Composition VII (1913).
Composition VII, 1913

9. Circles in a Circle, 1923
Distinct Connection, 1925

10. Several Circles, 1926
Composition IX, 1936
Composition, 1944

11. Kandinsky felt that he could express feelings and music through colors and shapes in his paintings. For example, he thought that yellow had the crisp sound of a brass trumpet and that certain colors placed together could harmonize like chords on a piano.
The shapes he was most interested in were the circle, triangle, and the square.
He thought the triangle would cause aggressive feelings, the square calm feelings, and the circle spiritual feelings.
How do these shapes make you feel? The same or different than Wassily Kandinsky? Why?

12. Kandinsky said, “I see colors when I listen to music.”
Kandinsky’s favorite music was Richard Wagner.
After attending a Wagner performance he had an unusual visual response that he later described as a life- changing experience:
“I saw all my colors in spirit, before my eyes. Wild, almost crazy lines were sketched in front of me.”
Transverse Line, 1923

13. What kind of music do you “hear” when you look at this painting?
Composition VIII, 1923

14. What kinds of music do you think Wassily Kandinsky
Our print of the month:
Lyrical (Lyrics), 1911
Man on a Horse
Do you see the horse?
Do you see the man?
What kinds of music do you
think Wassily Kandinsky
was listening to while
painting this piece?

15. Classroom Safe Share Videos:
Wassily Kandinsky Animation - 1:16
Wassily Kandinsky Biography Video – 2:38 min
Bach Kandinsky Jarre - Music Art Composition - Total 8:00 (Show first minute, then forward to last 2 minutes. Fun look at Kandinsky art with music.)

16. References:
Photo: Wikipedia.org Wassily Kandinsky
Making Art Fun – Kandinsky