Untitled (First Abstract Watercolour) - Wassily Kandinsky

A seminal 1910 work by Wassily Kandinsky, often cited as the first purely abstract watercolour in modern art history.

This work, executed in 1910, occupies a specific position in the history of Western art. It is widely recognised as one of the earliest examples of purely non-representational painting. Wassily Kandinsky, a Russian artist who spent much of his career in Germany and France, moved away from the depiction of recognisable objects to explore the emotional and spiritual potential of colour and form.

The composition features a series of loose, gestural marks and washes of colour that float across the paper. Kandinsky employs a combination of watercolour, Indian ink, and pencil to create a sense of movement and spontaneity. The ink lines provide a skeletal structure, while the washes of blue, red, yellow, and orange suggest an internal energy rather than a physical scene. The lack of a horizon line or central perspective forces the viewer to engage with the work as a collection of visual sensations.

Kandinsky was interested in the concept of synaesthesia, where sensory experiences overlap. He believed that colours and shapes could evoke sounds and musical qualities. In this piece, the scattered elements appear to dance across the white space, mimicking the rhythm of a musical score. The work does not attempt to mimic the natural world, but instead prioritises the internal logic of the composition. By stripping away the requirement for narrative or figurative content, Kandinsky opened a path for the development of modern abstraction. This print captures the delicate layering of the original medium, allowing the transparency of the watercolour and the precision of the ink lines to remain visible.