Vasily Kandinsky

The shifting forms and colors in this watercolor surge forward and recede, forming a completely abstract panorama at first glance. Further examination reveals hints of a landscape, however, including a hilltop town illuminated by a deep-red sun over a tower at upper left. Forced by World War I to leave Germany, where he had lived since 1898, Kandinsky returned to Moscow in 1914. There, restricted by limited space and financial resources, he concentrated on small- scale works primarily in watercolor, such as this one.