Riding Couple 1906 - 1907

"Riding Couple" was painted by Wassily Kandinsky using oil paints on canvas. Kandinsky’s interest lay in the material qualities of the paint itself, which he applied in vibrant spots and streaks. This was not an especially new method. Rather it was Impressionism, updated for the twentieth century. Look at how the texture is built up, particularly in the birch trees and reflections in the water. His method is less about rendering figures, and more about the physical properties of pigment. The canvas provided a woven, tactile base that allowed for the layering of paint, creating a sense of depth and movement. Kandinsky came from a privileged background and wasn’t necessarily concerned with labor or class. But his mark-making is still tied to that kind of work. It represents an individual's artistic labor. We see the record of a sensibility, physically applied to the surface. In the end, the painting's value comes not just from its image, but also from the human effort embedded in its creation.