Bedroom in Aintmillerstrasse 1909

Kandinsky made this painting, Bedroom in Aintmillerstrasse, using oil on cardboard. The slightly wonky perspective and simplified forms give it a childlike feel, like a memory being pieced back together. I love the way Kandinsky uses colour here. It's not about representation; it's about feeling. See how the orange bed practically vibrates against the green wall? And that dab of pink for the pillow! There’s a real joy in the application of paint, it’s like he’s not trying to be neat or precise, just letting the colours do their thing. The tabletop still-life is so wonderfully rendered with thick daubs of blues and greens with expressive black lines. Later in his career, Kandinsky went fully abstract, but in this early work, you can see him already pushing the boundaries of what painting could be. It makes me think of Bonnard, who also captured intimate domestic scenes with a similar blend of observation and imaginative colour. It’s this ambiguity that makes the painting so compelling, it’s not just a bedroom, it’s a state of mind.