Kandinsky was interested in colors since he was a child, and used them in his painting. He already then could distinguish in them various smells and sounds. His ability to play piano and the cello enabled him to incorporate a musical sense in all his work. When he was thirty, Kandinsky started to focus only on painting. He left for Munich in 1896. In his painting he was mostly inspired by the Russian religious art created between the tenth and fourteenth century, which also involved certain folkloric elements. Other inspirations that influenced his art pertained to the art of Rembrandt, in particular gradations, and also impressionism. The work of Claude Monet had such an impact on him that he described it as moving forward. Such effects enabled him to perceive abstract in art that changed his view on the iconic art.
These experiences shaped his perception on art that he considered as part of a free expression. Other features that shaped his work were his personal attitudes of doing everything thoroughly. His first influences were realistic French impressionism abandoned in favor of landscapes that slowly started turning into abstract. He then started painting without any attachment to objects. He called this non-objective art.
In 1910 he wrote Concerning the Spiritual in Art, published in 1912. In his painting he abandoned the object while applying the unlimited number of possibilities while also incorporating various other tendencies in art. Mostly though, he was inspired by intuition. He followed authenticity and internal necessity while engaging in new ways of composing.
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