Wassily Kandinsky

1866-1944

During the the first world war, Kandinsky moved back to Russia, where he took an interest in the burgeoning constructivist movement, which was based on hard lines, dots and other geometric shapes. While in Russia, he also married a young art student by the name of Nina Andreevskaya, and as he had before, he immersed himself behind the scenes as well as in the spotlight, becoming a key player in the administration of several educational, and government run art programs, helping to create the Institute of Artistic Culture and the Museum of Pictorial Culture in Moscow.
Alas, clashing views with some of the other artists made him return to Germany, where he would teach at the Bauhaus school, this time focusing on introductory art, and Murals. There are very few remaining examples of the work Kandinsky produced in Russia, but many of the paintings he created in Germany have survived.

Over the years, Kandinsky participated in several solo and group showings around the world, which earned him the admiration and support of Solomon Guggenheim. In 1933, Kandinsky was granted German citizenship, but the rise to power of the Nazi party would mean the closing of the Bauhaus school, forcing him to relocate once more, this time in Paris would settle down in Neuilly a quiet suburb, where he continued to work tirelessly on new paintings. Kandinsky was granted French citizenship, and he remained in France for the remaining years of his life. Even in his twilight years, Kandinsky still managed to shock the art world and innovate. Even though he was a recluse, he had many friends in the artistic community, and he would often get visits from artists such as Joan Miro, Sophie Tauber, and Alberto Magnelli.

Wassily Kandinsky continued painting until his death, on December 13th, 1944.

"I applied streaks and blobs of color onto the canvas with a palette knife and I made them sing with all the intensity I could..."
Wassily Kandinsky

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