Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (1866-1944) was a Russian artist who wore different hats — that of a painter, an educator and a lawyer. He is credited as a leader in avant-garde art as one of the founders of pure abstraction in the early 20th century. He took up the study of art in earnest at the age of 30 and moved to Munich to study drawing and painting. As a trained musician, Kandinsky approached colours with a musician’s sensibility. His paintings that were recognised as the first totally abstract works in modern art made no reference to the objects of the physical world, and derived their inspiration and titles from music. Thus colours became more of an expression of emotion rather than a faithful description of nature or subject matter.

“Composition VIII” (1923) — oil on canvas, 55.1 inches × 79.1 inches — was painted 10 years after the earlier canvas tilted as “Composition VII” and the transition from the apocalyptic emotion to the geometric rhythm shocked the audience. In “Composition VIII” circles, triangles, and linear elements create a surface of interacting geometric forms. It is exhibited at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. — M.Z.A

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, December 4th, 2016