Wassily Kadinsky. From Sohail Kizilbash

Wassily Kadinsky, 1866-1944, a revolutionary artist, was born in Moscow at a time of cultural prosperity during the reign of Czar Alexander II.  His family had recently returned from exile in Siberia. Upon his return his father married a woman known for her intelligence and beauty but the marriage did not last long and Wassily was the only offspring. His parents divorced when he was only five years old and his mother’s elder sister brought him up.

Kadinsky was a gifted writer. His earliest memories are of a visit to Italy when he was only three years old. He remembered the colors in great detail. It is certain that he started drawing and painting at a very early age. He graduated as a lawyer. Yet at age thirty he decided that the uncertain life of an artist was preferable to a life as a lawyer. He decided to study art at Munich, where famous artists set the tone in the art world. The art world was undergoing a major revolution. It was summarized by an architect in the following words, “The greatest mistake one can make is to believe that Art is the precise reproduction of Nature.”

Interestingly for the initial two years Kadinsky underwent the strict discipline of drawing nudes. However during this time he did not produce any notable work. He did not do very well either as a draughtsman. His fellow students made fun of him as a ‘colorist.’ His teacher painted in an impressionist style using unmixed colors in juxtaposition. This was called the ‘divisionist technique.’  He tried different techniques and themes to end up making totally abstract paintings.

I find his paintings very interesting. His earlier paintings are delightful as they show reality but only in a stylized manner. There is only an allusion to reality. There are vivid and numerous colors. One may see a house, a street or a tree but the colors are all unreal yet beautiful. He later moves on to more abstract designs where it is difficult or impossible to make out any natural object. One can spend a long time wondering whether there are any dragons and ghosts or people and horses. I often find that after staring for a long time all sorts of images start appearing in front of the eyes. I was looking at one of his paintings which initially appeared as blotches of green, blues and other colors. After a while a horse appeared and then a rider holding a bow. Some buildings or a castle also became apparent.  Some people and some giants seem to be very interested in the scene and are looking on. Later I discovered that the title of the painting was ‘Picture with Archer’.  I think it is more fun to see a work before looking at its title so that one approaches the work without any preconceptions.

Later on his works became more and more abstract and geometric patterns can be seen. They are interesting too but perhaps I have not evolved enough to appreciate the genius of these paintings. Similarly his paintings in a style called ‘biomorphic abstraction’ are also intriguing phenomena. Bird and

Turtle-like creatures can be seen flying about though their shapes and colors do not reflect any reality. All paintings have been made very painstakingly. The details are remarkable. Even where it appears to be a simple design, upon close examination one can see the huge amount of work that must have gone into it.

Overall, it can be said that it is a delight to see his paintings. There are some paintings I would like to copy in my own manner e.g. Grungasse in Murnao and Improvisation 6 and some others, just to see whether it is possible to reproduce a similar effect.

Citation: The biography paragraphs have been culled and quoted from Wassily Kadinsky, a book published in 2007 by TASCHEN GmbH, Koln, Germany.