Kandinsky: Inspired by Music

Wassily Kandinsky was a Russian born artist who lived from 1866 to 1944.  He was an abstract painter.  That means that he wasn't worried about making things look real to life in his paintings.  At one point in his artistic career, he decided to paint 10 "compositions", or music set to paint.  As he listened to the music, it inspired the lines, shapes, and colors he chose in each piece.  The following is an excerpt from Wikipedia:

Writing that "music is the ultimate teacher," Kandinsky embarked upon the first seven of his ten Compositions. The first three survive only in black-and-white photographs taken by fellow artist and friend, Gabriele Münter. While studies, sketches, and improvisations exist (particularly of Composition II), a Nazi raid on the Bauhaus in the 1930s resulted in the confiscation of Kandinsky's first three Compositions. They were displayed in the State-sponsored exhibit "Degenerate Art" then destroyed along with works by Paul Klee, Franz Marc and other modern artists.

While some of his artwork did not survive the Nazis, he did!

Here are some of the "Compositions" that did survive.

Composition #4

Composition #5

Composition #6

Composition #7

 

 Composition # 8

 

 Composition #9

 

Composition #10