Vasily Kandinsky
French, born Russia, 1866­1944
Improvisation 30 (Cannons)
1913
Oil on canvas
109.2 x 109.9 cm
Arthur Jerome Eddy Memorial Collection, 1931.511
© 1995 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York  / ADAGP, Paris

Kandinsky believed that music and painting were similar, and that musical notes were like colors. Paintings like this improvisation—a term used in music—aimed to produce an impression of light, movement, and color.

We can see real objects represented in this painting, such as the cannon on the right. But between 1910 and 1914, Kandinsky also painted his first wholly abstract works, which he believed were closer to the purity of music.