Wassili Kandinsky  was one of the leading lights of the Modernist movement. Born in 1866 in Moscow, he was one of the earliest of the abstract artists of Modernism. He grew up in Odessa, where he mixed with people from across the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. Despite this he was a late starter and didn't start painting until he was 30. The influences of Odessa did, however, ensure that he was exposed to other western arts, such as music and poetry. These had a big part to play in developing his painting style. Whilst at the University of Moscow from 1889 he studied ethnography and so was also introduced to the arts of other cultures and took an interest in Tribal Art and Music.

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It was in 1896 that he changed career and left Law to study at Art College. He devoured other cultures and their artworks. He developed a style that centred on using shapes and colour to express his ideas, and so was an early expressionist. He rejected the classical objectivist style. It was his "Blue Rider" piece that gave him a break through. Along with a small group of other expressionist he developed the Blue Rider ( Der Blaue Reiter ) Group.

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Kandinsky went on to influence a whole generation of abstract expressionist artists, especially through his teaching role at the Bauhous school of Art and Design