Author Description

This catalogue accompanies a major exhibition devoted to Vasily Kandinsky. It explores the evolution of his work from the Blaue Reiter to the Bauhaus years. During this period, Kandinsky developed his revolutionary abstract style and began to move beyond conventional easel painting. As master of the mural workshop at the Bauhaus, Kandinsky was able to put his ambition to create large-scale art environments into practice, particularly in his mural designs for the 1922 Juryfreie exhibition in Berlin and later in his decorations for the Salon de Musique in 1931. At this time, he developed a strong interest in the Wagnerian concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk, or total work of art. Embracing the principles of synesthesia, Kandinsky focused on the relationship between art and music, pushing the boundaries of the medium.Vasily Kandinsky (1866-1944) began painting at the age of 30, after putting aside a highly successful career in law. After studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, he returned to his native Moscow just after the outbreak of World War I. Uninspired by the prevalent Suprematist and Futurist art there, he returned to Germany in 1921, teaching at the Bauhaus until the school was closed by the Nazis. He then moved to France, where he lived until his death in 1944.