2. Claude Monet's Haystacks became a real revelation to Kandinsky and proved to be an important milestone on his path to abstraction. In his book Retrospect (1913), he recalls: "And once I saw the painting for the first time. It seemed to me that it was impossible to guess without a catalogue that it was a haystack. This lack of clarity was unpleasant to me: I thought that the painter had no right to paint so unclearly. It was a vague feeling that there was no object in the painting. I noticed with surprise and confusion that the painting not only gripped me but printed ineradicably on my memory, and suddenly arose in my mind down to the last detail. <...> But deep at the back of my mind, the object was discredited as a necessary element of the painting."
3. Kandinsky is often called a "pioneer of abstraction." In fact, in this direction, he went hand in hand with Hilma af Klint, Mondrian, Malevich, Picabia, and others. In the early 1910s, there was a general need in painting to break the boundaries of figurative art, as can be seen in the works of many artists. However, Kandinsky was the one who theorized the existence of art beyond these boundaries. That is why his watercolor from 1910 is considered a starting point.
4. Kandinsky's only child, Vsevolod, died at the age of three in 1920.
5. Kandinsky was a synesthete. Synesthesia is a special form of perception in which stimulation of one sense organ evokes sensations specific to another. For example, a synesthete "hears colors" and "sees sounds."
6. Several of Kandinsky's paintings, along with hundreds of other artists' works, were confiscated by the Nazis during their campaign against avant-garde art. They were later presented to the public as part of the infamous "Degenerate Art" exhibition of 1937–1941.
7. Kandinsky's most expensive painting to date is Study for Improvisation 8. On November 7, 2012, it was sold at Christie's auction for $23 million.
7 Facts About Kandinsky You Might Not Know
1. Kandinsky began to practice art at the age of 30. Prior to that, he successfully studied economics and law — a professorship at the University of Dorpat was already assured for him. But he decided to give up a promising career and went to Germany to study painting.
Kandinsky at Moscow University., 1893
2. Claude Monet's Haystacks became a real revelation to Kandinsky and proved to be an important milestone on his path to abstraction. In his book Retrospect (1913), he recalls: "And once I saw the painting for the first time. It seemed to me that it was impossible to guess without a catalogue that it was a haystack. This lack of clarity was unpleasant to me: I thought that the painter had no right to paint so unclearly. It was a vague feeling that there was no object in the painting. I noticed with surprise and confusion that the painting not only gripped me but printed ineradicably on my memory, and suddenly arose in my mind down to the last detail. <...> But deep at the back of my mind, the object was discredited as a necessary element of the painting."
"Haystacks" by Claude Monet, 1891
3. Kandinsky is often called a "pioneer of abstraction." In fact, in this direction, he went hand in hand with Hilma af Klint, Mondrian, Malevich, Picabia, and others. In the early 1910s, there was a general need in painting to break the boundaries of figurative art, as can be seen in the works of many artists. However, Kandinsky was the one who theorized the existence of art beyond these boundaries. That is why his watercolor from 1910 is considered a starting point.
"Untitled (First Abstract Watercolor)", 1910
4. Kandinsky's only child, Vsevolod, died at the age of three in 1920.
5. Kandinsky was a synesthete. Synesthesia is a special form of perception in which stimulation of one sense organ evokes sensations specific to another. For example, a synesthete "hears colors" and "sees sounds."
Impression lll (Concert), 1911
6. Several of Kandinsky's paintings, along with hundreds of other artists' works, were confiscated by the Nazis during their campaign against avant-garde art. They were later presented to the public as part of the infamous "Degenerate Art" exhibition of 1937–1941.
Adolf Hitler and Adolf Ziegler visit the Degenerate Art Exhibition, 1937
7. Kandinsky's most expensive painting to date is Study for Improvisation 8. On November 7, 2012, it was sold at Christie's auction for $23 million.
"Study for Improvisation 8.", 1909
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