Improvisation (Dreamy) 1913

Wassily Kandinsky made this dreamy improvisation with oil on canvas, we don't know exactly when. It's this big square - over four feet wide - in the Lenbachhaus in Munich. Kandinsky’s paintings are an exercise in feeling - I get a real sense of him trying to figure out what painting could be. There's this kind of urgent energy in the marks - thin lines, pooling colors. I love the way he’s laid down these blotches and streaks of color, then added frantic little dashes and scribbles over the top. Look at how the blue and white form in the lower center pulls forward, contrasting with a flatter red that sits further back. This one mark encapsulates the whole image – like an alphabet, but in pure paint. The whole thing is like a map of thoughts, feelings, places - all laid out in colour. It feels related to some of the later Joan Miró paintings in its energy, but maybe a little less grounded, more cosmic? Either way, this work is like he's charting new territory.