Improvisation Gorge by Wassily Kandinsky

Impression Gorge is an abstract artwork from Wassily Kandinsky, completed in 1914. It is a part of the collection of the Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany, but has also been displayed elsewhere in recent years.

This manic composition is Kandinsky at his busiest. We find sharp lines, curves and also areas of free colour and this creative man expresses himself upon a large canvas. The most prominent tone here appears to be blue, into which all other objects interact. We can immediately start to identify different elements of the painting, though only tentatively because of the abstract way in which this artist worked for much of his career. Besides those tones of blue, we also find yellows, reds, greens and purples, all of which persist through the majority of his paintings in the early 20th century. He chose these after studying colour theories himself and so was keen to get each selection just right. The end result was bold, contemporary paintings that remain highly popular today, a good century of so later. His own reputation spread right across the world and remains considerable even today.

Some abstract artists have used the cosmos as inspiration for their work but Kandinsky liked to focus on earth itself, often with a Russian slant, as per his upbringing. Here we discover some stunning architecture, albeit in a style differed from reality, in something more akin to a dream-like world that derives directly from the artist's own mind. This was Abstract Expressionism at its best, theory, music and colour all combining, along with the artist's own unique perspective on life.

The artwork can be found at the Lenbachhaus, Munich, Germany, where most of his improvisation series can be located. Germany remains the place to go for those looking to see this artist's paintings in person, though some of the more notable titles can be found at the Tate in London as well as a few major art galleries within the US. Within Germany, you will also find local artists well represented, with this nation having contributed significant names since the Northern Renaissance, leading all the way up to the present day. Names to look out for include Albrecht Durer, Lucas Cranach, Franz Marc and also Caspar David Friedrich, who was one of the most important landscape painters in history. Even just those names alone offer an exciting breadth of work, across different movements and artistic styles over many centuries.