Vasily was born in Moscow and in his early life had a conventional career in law and company directing but underneath his corporate exterior there beat the heart of an artist (came of knowing the right transplant surgeons).
Aged 30, and no longer able to contain his enthusiasm for music, anthropology and all things arty, he underwent a life-changing experience when he came face-to-face with a Monet 'Haystack'. It was the last straw. Almost immediately Vasily chucked in his career and became a painter, going to live in Germany where he made brightly-coloured pictures inspired by music, fairy tales (and animal fodder).
In 1909 he had yet another 'significant moment' (he was a 'significant moments' sort of person) when he spotted a mysterious picture in his studio. He was transfixed by its wondrous colours and beguiling shapes. Puzzled, he examined it more closely then realised it was one of his own pictures (the chump). It had been leaning on its side and the enchanting transparent wash he'd found so mesmerising was created by the twilight that bathed the room. He immediately abandoned the idea of subject matter in painting and began to work in a wholly abstract manner for the next four years.
In 1910 he met Franz Marc and August Macke with whom he formed the Blue Rider School (after discovering a mutual interest in nude equestrianism). Vasily changed countries and partners several times, taught at the Bauhaus, had a one-man show in New York, and eventually ended up living in France where he whipped up public enthusiasm for the 1937 International Exhibition of Abstract Art, did a bit more painting and died.
Schweres Rot
Wassily Kandinsky
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Farbstudie quadrate mit konzentrischen ringen
Wassily Kandinsky
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Fragment 2 For Composition VII
Wassily Kandinsky
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Deux taches noires, 1923
Wassily Kandinsky
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Farbstudie Quadrate
Wassily Kandinsky
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Painting number 200
Wassily Kandinsky
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Case a Monaco, 1908
Wassily Kandinsky
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Im Blau 1925
Wassily Kandinsky
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Studie zu Komposition VII, 1913
Wassily Kandinsky
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Succession
Wassily Kandinsky
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One Center
Wassily Kandinsky
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A Tribute to Grohmann
Wassily Kandinsky
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La chiesa rossa
Wassily Kandinsky
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Painting No.200
Wassily Kandinsky
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Mit und gegen, 1929
Wassily Kandinsky
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In the Black Circle, 1923
Wassily Kandinsky
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Jaune, rouge, bleu
Wassily Kandinsky
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Arco azzurro
Wassily Kandinsky
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Counter Gravitation
Wassily Kandinsky
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Ognissanti I, 1911
Wassily Kandinsky
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La grande torre a Kiev
Wassily Kandinsky
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Hommage À Grohmann
Wassily Kandinsky
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Murnau Garten II
Wassily Kandinsky
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White Zigzag
Wassily Kandinsky
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Yellow, Red, Blue, 1925
Wassily Kandinsky
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A Tribute to Grohman
Wassily Kandinsky
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Accent en Rose, 1926
Wassily Kandinsky
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Green Composition, 1923
Wassily Kandinsky
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Diagonale, 1930
Wassily Kandinsky
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Structure joyeuse, 1926
Wassily Kandinsky
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