Colour Study of Squares with Concentric Circles

This is one of Kandinsky’s most famous pieces. Made during his period with the “Blue Rider” movement, this piece shows many of the artist’s best-known stylistic characteristics: Kandinsky has rejected realistic forms, in favour of exploring the relationships between colours and their effect on the viewer, and has begun to abandon strictly structured compositions. Although his concentric circles all sit within a grid formation, the lines of the shapes are uneven and imprecise. The colours Kandinsky has paired together seem to change when you focus on one circle or another. This effect was something Kandinsky found fascinating, a type of colourful “vibration” similar to the experience of listening to music.