Wassily Kandinsky“I applied streaks and blobs of color onto the canvas with a palette knife and I made them sing with all the intensity

I could...”

Who is Wassily Kandinsky?

• Wassily Kandinsky was born on December, 16th in Moscow 1866.

• He was a Russian painter, printmaker and art theorist.

• He was one of the most famous 20th-century artists, he is credited with painting the first modern abstract works.

Kandinsky & his early training…He was 30 before he went to Munich, Germany and began to truly study art. He focused, at first, on creating sketches and studies of human bodies. 

He settled in Germany after World War I where he taught art at the Bauhaus school and painted until the Nazis came into power. At that point (1933), he went back to France where he remained for the rest of his life.

Farewell  1903

Colorful Life 1907

Realistic to Abstract

• Kandinsky’s earliest paintings were quite realistic.

• Then he moved into a style similar to that of the Impressionists before he began creating completely abstract paintings.

Picture with Archer 1909

Improvisation 26 (Oars) 1912

Color, Color, and More Color!

• Kandinsky was especially interested in color, even as a child. Beginning in his earlier, more realistic paintings, Kandinsky used color to show emotion rather than to make objects look real.

• As he grew as an artist, Kandinsky became more concerned with the power of color in describing what he was feeling. He wanted to use color to make his viewers feel emotion, too.

Picture XVI, The Great

Gate of Kiev1928

Composition X 

1939.

He Preferred Abstract • Gradually, Kandinsky’s work became more abstract.

• He began to paint objects as patches of color instead of painting perfect details such as facial features or individual leaves on trees.

• He liked the abstract more than the realistic.

• As he grew as an artist, his figures became less realistic until the viewer could no longer identify known objects in his paintings.

Kandinsky’s Legacy• Kandinsky was trying to

create the same effect on a viewer of his paintings as a beautiful piece of music has on a listener.

• Kandinsky Died December 13, 1944 in France 

• Kandinsky’s ideas about art are possibly more important than even the paintings he created. He wrote three books about his ideas.

Ways to Teach Kandinsky Art…

What's left in art when you take away anything that looks like something? Kandinsky did it---leaving color, line,

shapes, and angles!

Kandinsky Colorweaver

Wassily Kandinsky made a beautiful

painting called "Color Studies" back in the early 1900's that is

fun to imitate with oil pastels instead of

watercolor.

Kandinsky Geometry

The purpose of the activity is for kids to learn to measure

diameter, radius, and circumference of a circle. This activity is good for 3rd and 4th

graders.

CIRCLES IN CIRCLE1923

A LITTLE KANDINSKY

• Students explore the expressive qualities of line and color through the study of Wassily Kandinsky. They will also become more familiar with the painting process, as well as different kinds of colors and lines.

• Grade: K-2 (adaptable for other grades)

• Age: 4-6

Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944)Composition VIII 1923 

Responding to Music with Paint!

Music was very important to

Kandinsky’s beliefs about art. This lesson

can be used to incorporate music into

your students art.

Kandinsky Circles

Introduce students to the artwork of Wassily

Kandinsky.

Students create their own circle drawing using oil

pastels making sure to color in slowly and carefully.

 Good for 1st Grade

The End

Created By Sara Pittack

Art Methods

Fall 2012