Wassily Kandinsky Biography

Moscow, 1866 - Paris, 1944

Russian master artist whose practical and theoretical explorations of abstraction situate him among the most innovative and important artists of the modern age.

Kandinsky studied economics and law at the University of Moscow. It the age of 30 he abandoned law and moved to Munich to study art. It was not long before his talent surpassed the constraints of art school and he began exploring his own ideas of painting.

An active participant in several of the most influential and controversial art movements of the 20th century, among them Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) which he founded along with Franz Marc and the Bauhaus which also attracted Klee, Geiniger, and Schonberg. His reputation became firmly established in the United States when his work was introduced to Solomon Guggenheim, who became one of his most enthusiastic supporters.

In 1933, Kandinsky left Germany and settled in Neuilly, near Paris. Though out of favour with many of the patriarchs of Paris's artistic community, younger artists admired Kandinsky. His studio was visited regularly by Miro, Arp, Magnelli and Sophie Tauber.

Kandinsky continued painting almost until his death in June, 1944. His unrelenting quest for new forms which carried him to the very extremes of geometric abstraction have provided us with an unparalleled collection of abstract art.

Musuems and collections: - Art Institute of Chicago - Guggenheim Bilbao, Spain - Guggenheim Hermitage Museum, Las Vegas, Nevada - Guggenheim Museum, New York - Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minnesota - Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA - Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), New York - National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. - State Hermitage Museum, San Petersburgo, Rusia - Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia - Beyeler Foundation Collection, Switzerland - Didrichsen Art Museum, Helsinki, Finland - Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco - Folkwang Museum, Essen, Germany - Gemeentemuseum, The Hague - Kunsthaus Zurich, Switzerland - Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland - Kunstmuseum Bern, Germany - Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Trento, Italy - Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Argentina - Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Netherlands - Museum Kunst Palast, Dusseldorf, Germany - Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California - Palazzo Forti, Verona, Italy - Palazzo Grassi, Venece, Italy - Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Rofia (MNCARS), Madrid, Spain - Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK - Staatsgalerie Stuttgart, Germany - State Russian Museum - Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art, Amsterdam, Netherlands - Tate Gallery, London, UK - Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

[Books on Wassily Kandinsky][1]

[1]: http://www.picassomio.com/books/list/1,1104,1272,1283/en/ /