Couple Riding by Wassily Kandinsky

This stunning artwork by Wassily Kandinsky was created in 1906, when the artist would have been around forty years old, but actually still very early on in his career.

The couple mentioned in the title are on horseback, directly in front of us. A line of trees sit just behind them, alongside a wide river. On the other side of the bank is a busy cityscape, with traditional Russian architecture reaching into the skies. Whilst the content is enchanting, it is actually the style used by Kandinsky, with his small dabs of paint, that make this artwork just so memorable. Considering how early in the 20th century this painting arrived, it was also critical in the early signs of abstract art which were starting to appear within this innovative artist's work. Some forget that although he would have been around forty at the time of this painting, he started this profession fairly late because of his earlier work in a professional capacity as a lawyer. This was, therefore, still fairly early in his artistic development and he remained experimental at this stage.

Kandinsky would have, at first, put in the main composition and detail before than adding his light touches of paint which remind some of the pointilist movement. He decorates the clothing on the horse, as well as its mane, and also the couple's outfits, which essentially merged the three figures together into one single form. He then does the very same to the trees, giving a feeling akin to christmas lights, where each and every spot of the trees are alight, which contrasts beautifully against the otherwise dark trunk and branches. At this point Kandinsky was using Russian influences within much of his work and would do so for a number of years. It was only later that his travels abroad brought in new ideas which took him into different directions.

The piece can be found at the Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany. A visit to that gallery will also offer a number of other significant artists, such as Franz Marc (Blue Horse I 1911, The Tiger), August Macke (Promenade 1913), Georgia O'Keeffe and also a number more works from Kandinsky, including Impression III (Concert) 1911. The city itself has a wealth of culture to enjoy and a number of other specific institutions to cram an extended stay of interesting amusements and learning.