Wassily Kandinsky is widely credited as the pioneer of abstract art. A movement towards abstraction was presented early on in his career during his Blue Period (1911-1914) whereby during this time, his inclination to use colour independently of form and to incorporate musical terminology in order to identify his work, became commonplace. Kandinsky believed in the spirituality of colour, as a means in which to ‘feel’ an artwork rather than to simply ‘see’ it. He also associated different colours with different chords or notes on the piano, believing that combinations of colours, produced different vibrational frequencies.

It was during his time teaching at the Bauhaus (1922-1933) that  geometry became increasingly important in Kandinsky’s work and he began to examine the effect of the forces on straight lines. Shapes and forms such as the circle, half circle and angle predominated and he theorized that certain shapes represented different forms of consciousness or elicited different sentiments. The circle, for example, was considered the most peaceful shape, symbolizing the soul.