Improvisation 4 by Wassily Kandinsky

Improvisation 4 is a 1909 abstract painting from Wassily Kandinsky which is now in the collection of the Nizhny Novgorod State Museum of Fine Arts, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.

Artist Kandinsky produced impressions, improvisations and compositions during his period as an abstract artist and each series had its own specific connection between inspiration from reality or the sub-conscious. He wanted to create art which came naturally to him, in a little way to how automated art appeared within western Europe at around the same time. This was all an attempt to connect to parts of the brain which could create new results where as everything before had been entirely based on what we can see and touch in the real world. That said, many of his improvisations would re-purpose elements from reality, and figures would appear in most of them. Landscaped hills would often be signalled by curved lines though within Improvisation 4 it is particularly difficult to pinpoint and decipher specific elements.

The Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum is sat on a bend of the Volga river in a picturesque location which matches the beauty of its collection. It is over a century old and is around 400km west of Moscow. Their impressive selection of original includes a focus on Russian artists, with many of the greats featured - such as Larionov, Goncharova, Rozanova, Malevich, Kandinsky, Repin, Levitan, Malyavin, Korovin and Serova. For those who find themselves in the country, it is an excellent route to quickly understand more about the highlights of Russian art from the past two centuries. Moscow and St Petersburg are renowned locations for cultural exploration but other regions do also have their own offerings that should also be considered.