A groundbreaking exhibition at the Philharmonie de Paris invites visitors to experience the art of Wassily Kandinsky through both visual and auditory senses, offering headphones that allow audiences to listen to his abstract paintings while observing them. The innovative display explores the deep connection between music and visual art in the work of the abstract art pioneer.
In 1896, Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) was preparing to teach law, though painting also fascinated him. When he returned from his walks through Moscow at sunset, he despaired at his inability to capture the blazing colors on canvas. This creative struggle continued until he attended a performance of Wagner's opera "Lohengrin" at the Bolshoi Theatre, an experience that would fundamentally change his artistic perspective.
The transformative moment at the opera house revealed to Kandinsky the profound connection between music and color. "The violins, the deep bassoons and especially all the wind instruments embodied for me the power of that hour before the end of day," he wrote in his autobiography "Reminiscences of the Past" (1913). "I believed I could see all my colors, I had them before my eyes."
For Kandinsky, who became a pioneer of abstract art, music created visual landscapes that he then reproduced in color on his canvases. This synesthetic approach to art-making, where one sensory experience triggers another, became fundamental to his artistic philosophy and revolutionary painting style. The exhibition demonstrates how musical compositions influenced the flowing lines, dynamic forms, and vibrant color palettes that characterize his most famous works.
The featured painting "Gelb-Rot-Blau" (Yellow-Red-Blue) from 1925, on loan from the Centre Pompidou, exemplifies this musical-visual synthesis. Visitors can experience how Kandinsky translated the rhythms, harmonies, and emotional crescendos of musical pieces into abstract visual compositions, making his paintings accessible through multiple senses simultaneously.
