Wassily Kandinsky

Visual Arts Russian 1866 – 1944 342 quotes

Pioneer of abstract art

Most quoted

"The artist must be blind to 'recognized' or 'unrecognized' form, deaf to the teachings of his time or the desires of his public. His open eyes must be directed to his inner life and his ears to the voice of inner necessity. Then he will seize all the means of expression from the outer world."

— from Concerning the Spiritual in Art, 1911

"The true work of art is born from the 'artist': a mysterious, enigmatic, and mystical creation. It detaches itself from him, it acquires an autonomous life, becomes a personality, an independent subject, animated with a spiritual breath, the living subject of a real existence of being."

— from Concerning the Spiritual in Art, 1911

"The true work of art is born from the 'artist': a mysterious, enigmatic, and mystical creation. It detaches itself from him, it acquires an autonomous life, becomes a personality, an independent spiritual subject, an animate being that lives, breathes, and has a real existence."

— from Concerning the Spiritual in Art, 1911

All quotes by Wassily Kandinsky (342)

The work of art is a spiritual act.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

The artist is a priest of the beautiful.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

The artist must be a master of his craft, but also a servant of his inner voice.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

The artist is a dreamer who makes his dreams come true.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

The artist must create, not imitate.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

The artist must be a revolutionary, not a conformist.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

The artist must be a seeker of truth, not a purveyor of lies.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

The artist must be a voice for the voiceless.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

The artist must be a light in the darkness.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

The artist must be a healer of the soul.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

The artist must be a creator of new worlds.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

The artist must be a mirror of the divine.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

The artist must be a messenger of hope.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

The artist must be a poet of the brush.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

The artist must be a musician of color.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

The artist must be a philosopher of form.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

The artist must be a scientist of the soul.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

The artist must be a magician of the spirit.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

The artist must be a visionary of the future.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art

The artist must be a chronicler of the human heart.

Concerning the Spiritual in Art