During his artistic career, Wassily Kandinsky not only transformed his own style, but also changed the course of art history. This essential guide traces his rich repertoire to introduce us to the painter, printmaker, teacher and theorist who was the architect of the first modern abstract painting, one of the most brilliant theoretical minds in twentieth-century art.

Abstract beginnings

Crucial work in the history of art

Throughout his artistic career, Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) not only transformed his own style, but also changed the course of art history. From his early figurative and landscape painting, he advanced to become a pioneer of the spiritual, emotive and rhythmic use of colour and line, and is today credited with creating the first purely abstract work of art.

Both as a teacher and theoretician and in his artistic practice, Kandinsky's interests in music, theatre, poetry, philosophy, ethnology, mythology and the occult were essential aspects of his paintings and prints. He belonged to the influential Blaue Reiter and Bauhaus groups, and left not only a legacy of stunning visual works, but also influential treatises such as On the Spiritual in Art. Among his basic principles were the connections between painting, music and mystical experience, and the purification of art away from material realism and towards condensed emotional expression, particularly in colour.

This book presents Kandinsky's key works and presents his repertoire of vivid colours, forms and emotions. This journey through the artist's radical stylistic evolution shows how the progression of one painter paved the way for future generations of Abstract Expressionists.

About the author

Hajo Düchting studied art history, philosophy and archaeology in Munich, where he obtained his doctorate in 1981 with a thesis on Robert Delaunay's Windows series. After working in museum and adult education, he has held teaching posts and been a visiting professor at the universities of Munich, Kassel, Leipzig, Saarbrücken and Mainz. Düchting has published numerous articles on modern art, colour theory and art education, and has written several titles in TASCHEN, including Paul Cézanne, Wassily Kandinsky, Robert and Sonia Delaunay and Georges Seurat.

Publisher: Taschen