Kandinsky is very frank in this autobiographical novel as he weaves together memories of his childhood, his Munich impressions and thoughtful reflections on art. Whether it is a story of his favorite childhood toy, his first impressions of the impressionists’ canvases on exhibitions in Moscow, or a passage on his favorite topic - the objective and the abstract in art - all of the content is not just a book; it is a heart-to-heart conversation. As you read Retrospect, you seem to comprehend vividly the shining facets of the artist’s soul.

The story being told is non-linear, it is like a flow: reminiscences of the expedition to the Vologda Governorate, where the motley colored everyday life of the Zyryans is perceived by the young artist as the literal immersion into a work of art: “art surrounded me, and I entered into it”; thought on how the power born of innermost necessity forces the content to subjugate the form, and the spirit to subjugate the matter; reflections on his gradual coming to understand that the subject matter is not a necessary part of his art; a painstaking search for his new artistic language; his walks with a sketch book around Munich, where an artist learned to be an artist: to see the nature, feel the colors and listen to his own soul – learning first and foremost from himself.