Sharp Hardness by Wassily Kandinsky, 1926.
The remarkable painting above is just one of an extensive collection painted by Wassily Kandinsky. Born in Moscow in 1866, Kandinsky was first attracted to art in grammar school. He would later recall his initial motivation:
"I remember that drawing and a little bit later painting lifted me out of the reality."
At the age of 20, Kandinsky entered the Law Faculty of Moscow University. After graduating with honors, he joined the school's faculty as Associate Professor. His return to painting would not occur until a decade later.
The organizing principle of Kandinsky's work became the study of "color, line, and composition," components readily apparent in his 1926 painting Sharp Hardness. The piece is also a delightful example of his view that "color lives by its mysterious life."
Invited to join the Bauhaus school of design and architecture in Weimar, Kandinsky and his wife moved to Germany in 1921. However, in 1933, the Nazis closed the Bauhaus, and the following year, Kandinsky and his wife moved to Paris, where Kandinsky lived the rest of his life.
Considered "the pioneer of abstract art," Kandinsky's prodigious work would inspire countless artists.