Impression III

This 1911 painting, Impression III (Concert), shows Kandinsky translating music directly into color. He painted this after hearing a concert by the modern composer Arnold Schoenberg, whose work broke the old rules of music.

The painting is not meant to be a realistic picture of the audience or the orchestra. Instead, the large black shape is the grand piano, and the powerful wave of bright yellow that flows across the canvas is the sound itself, which Kandinsky felt was reaching out and touching the listeners.

Kandinsky believed art should appeal to the "inner necessity" or soul, and he often associated specific colors with musical notes or emotional states. This work is a crucial early step in his move towards totally abstract painting, where color and form become a universal language.