Wassily Kandinsky (1866 - 1944 Neuilly-sur-Seine), "Quinze" ("Fifteen"), 1938/1957

Biography
Russian painter, printmaker and art theorist. Co-founder and one of the representatives of abstractionism. He came from a wealthy Moscow family of entrepreneurs. Due to his father's health problems, the family moved to Odesa. In 1886, the artist returned to Moscow to study law and economics. However, he never defended his thesis. In 1896 he went to Munich to study painting. The Academy of Fine Arts found his skills inadequate. He decided to study at Anton Ažbe's drawing school. In 1900 he was accepted to the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich where he studied under Franz von Stuck. In his speeches, he juxtaposed painting with music, pointing out the affinity between sounds and colors. He claimed that he could speak through the pure expression of objectless lines, forms and colors. He is considered a forerunner of expressionist abstractionism. His works are part of the world's most important collections including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMa and the Art Institute of Chicago.