Wassely Kandinsky

Kandinsky, Wassely (Moscow, 1866-1944, Neuilly-sur-Seine), studied law and economics at Munich University and travelled in France and Italy before devoting himself to art in Munich (see Blaue Reiter, Der) and, after a spell in his native Russia (1914-21), in Weimar and Dessau (see Bauhaus). A close friend of Schönberg and Klee and a contributor to Der Sturm, he is noted for his lucid writing on aesthetics. He defined his conception of abstract art (gegenstands-lose Kunst) in an influential tract relating to Expressionist literature, Über das Geistige in der Kunst (1912, 8th edn. 1965). The postulate of the title that art should reflect an experience of the soul presupposes a progression from outer reality towards inwardness in which the word is instrumental. Thus Kandinsky proceeds from the notion that a word, used once, merely singles out an object, whereas its repetitive use causes the object's form and colour to disintegrate and produce echoes that are released from the poet's innate spirit; the title of the English translation is The Art of Spiritual Harmony. Other writings include an autobiography (1913), Punkt und Linie zur Fläche (1926), and Essay über Kunst und Künstler 1912-43, ed. M. Bill (1955).