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Which art movements influenced Wassily Kandinsky’s early paintings?
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Wassily Kandinsky
Painting with Green Center, oil on canvas by Wassily Kandinsky, 1913; in the Art Institute of Chicago.
Wassily Kandinsky’s early paintings were shaped by a variety of artistic influences as he transitioned from 19th-century realism toward his eventual breakthrough into pure abstraction. His formative style was influenced by the following movements and techniques:
- Impressionism: Influenced his early approach to light and color.1
- Art Nouveau: Known in Germany as Jugendstil, this movement provided him with inspiration through its decorative effects and characteristic whiplash lines.1
- Neo-Impressionism: He adopted the dot technique associated with Pointillism.1
- Expressionism and Fauvism: These movements influenced his use of strong, unrealistic colors.1
Beyond these specific movements, Kandinsky’s artistic development was deeply rooted in his interest in nonrealistic styles found in Russian folk painting and the visual language of traditional icons. These diverse influences eventually coalesced during his time in Munich and Murnau, leading him to move away from figurative art toward a personal style that utilized color, line, and shape to evoke emotion and express ideas.21