These are the 12 most famous paintings by Wassily Kandinsky. In the early 20th century, Wassily Kandinsky saw abstract art as the best visual medium for expressing the artist’s “inner necessity” and conveying universal human feelings and concepts. He saw himself as a prophet whose purpose was to spread this idea throughout the world for the good of mankind.
Several Circles (1926)
A masterpiece of abstract art and one of the famous paintings by Wassily Kandinsky, Several Circles depicts a group of circles of various sizes and colors. Some of the circles overlap and change color. In its purest form, this is simply abstract; it is subjective, relying on the limitless possibilities of circle interpretations to produce a feeling of mental and spiritual peace for the viewer. This is one of Kandinsky’s largest paintings.
Composition VII (1913)
This is a painting of a vortex-like composition with a core oval crisscrossed by black lines and a riot of colors and patterns swirling around it. Composition VII was called “operatic.” It is one of the earliest works to totally break free from Western European painting’s representational tradition, eliminating any connections to well-known shapes.
The Blue Rider (1903)
This painting depicts a rider wearing a blue coat or cloak and a lonely man on a white horse. The “Blue Rider” is also known as “Der Blaue Reiter,” which is the German title for it. This was one of Kandinsky’s last impressionist works, although it also has elements of abstractionism.
Murnau View With Railway and Castle (1909)
This painting depicts the view of Murnau with its railway and castle. It was made on cardboard in Munich, and it was inspired by expressionism and the landscape genre. The silhouetted flatness of the figures is reminiscent of Kandinsky’s woodcuts. Bold, richly painted colors, which contrasted sharply with the train’s black, were a unique way of expressing artistic expression.
On White II (1923)
This painting depicts a bright and chaotic contemporary display of geometric shapes and lines. Life, calm, and silence were all represented by the color white. Bold, spiked barbs in black, indicating non-existence and death, strike the kaleidoscope of shapes and colors. This is an early example of abstract painting.
Couple Riding (1906)
This painting depicts a lovely river city filled with churches, reminiscent of Moscow, with golden domes, as well as a couple dressed in traditional Russian costumes riding on horseback. It has a romantic feel to it and looks like a mosaic on a dark background. While the subject is interesting, it is Kandinsky’s technique, with his little dabs of paint, that makes this painting so unforgettable.
Gabriele Munter painting (1903)
This painting depicts Gabriele Munter, a German expressionist painter, at the easel. She paints in her yard, which is strewn with autumn leaves, from reality. Kandinsky and Munter had a strong and loving relationship as teacher and student. Post-impressionism paintings were raised under Kandinsky’s brush. Two portraits of Munter have been painted in this style.
Painting with Houses (1903)
This painting depicts a man sitting on a mountain, with trees and houses in the background.
Kandinsky painted the artwork by blocking large areas with bright colors, then brushing up the original area with various tones of the same color. This artwork is classified as expressionism, and it represents Kandinsky’s early artistic progress in which color is presented independently of form.
Winter Landscape (1909)
This painting depicts a scene in the middle of the winter, with snow covering both sides of the path and buildings, hills, and trees in the foreground. Thin, gloomy trees that lie dormant until springtime form an unusual balance in this painting, while the vibrant color that is on the snow-covered hills feels joyful. This artwork was created on cardboard, and some of the cardboard can be seen on the sides of the painting.
Moscow I (1906)
This painting depicts a couple dressed in traditional Russian dress with their backs to the audience, as though they are watching the capital city’s great music with them. The dramatic events that led the artist back to his homeland reawakened his love for his hometown, which had been kept in his heart for years.
Transverse Line (1923)
This is a painting of a wonderful example of geometric abstraction within its border, with numerous shapes, lines, and colors. The circle is one of the most prominent shapes, which Kandinsky believed represented peace and the human soul. “Transverse Line” is a contrast to his earlier works, which were primarily religious and impressionist in style.
Composition X (1939)
This is a painting with a black background and various colored floating planes that depict microscopic organisms. Created in 1939 when the artist was living in Paris, Composition X is considered one of the most famous paintings by Wassily Kandinsky. The black color was utilized carefully, implying that it was important because it signifies the cosmos as well as the darkness that is associated with death. This was one of Kandinsky’s best artworks, and it has been exhibited all over the world.
What famous paintings by Wassily Kandinsky do you think we should add to this list? Comment below.