Composition X

Paintings like Composition X from 1939 and beyond are largely focused on inspiring a spiritual resonance in both the viewer and the artist. By translating these epic myths into modern language, Kandinsky, as in his painting of the apocalypse by water (Composition X), places the observer in the experience of experiencing these epic myths (with a sense of desperation, flurry, urgency, and confusion). Within the constraints of words and visuals, this spiritual communion of viewer-painter-artist/prophet may be described.

Kandinsky frequently compared the creation of beautiful music to the act of painting colors and images on a canvas, and as a result, many of his works bear variations of the title Composition. His metaphor for art as a musical composition focused around the piano: the spirit was the piano and strings, the eyes were the hammers, and the color was the keyboard. Similar to how music is not just random notes strung together, Kandinsky's artworks were not merely jumbles of colors and shapes. They were musical elements that had been meticulously arranged and proportioned to elicit the viewer's highest level of aesthetic and emotional reaction.

Location: Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf, Germany
Style: Abstract
Year: 1939