Delicate Tension #85 - Kandinsky Tie

Watercolor on paper, 1923, Madrid, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum. Among the large number of watercolors painted by Kandinsky in 1922-1923, this work is number 85. They are all similar in style: closed forms filled with colour and intersecting straight lines seem to soar in the space of the canvas. Circles and triangles predominate, which, according to the artist, are the two main and most contrasting figures. Basil Kandinsky (1866-1944) is known as one of the first pioneers of modern abstract art. This Russian artist employed geometry, abstract colours, and abstract forms in his artworks. He believed that art can be used to express the “inner life” of an artist.