Group in Crinolines 1909

Wassily Kandinsky made this painting of a Group in Crinolines with oil on canvas, and what strikes me first is the process, how he seems to be searching for the forms, using bright colours to feel out where the edges might be. It's as if Kandinsky is figuring out the scene as he goes, the colours are laid down in broad strokes, not blended or refined, but left raw and immediate. Look at the way he uses colour to define the figures; the yellows, greens, and reds are all so intense. There's a spot of crimson in the lower right that doesn't seem to belong to any particular form, but it resonates with the overall feeling of the painting, like a rogue note in a musical composition. This painting makes me think of the Fauvist movement. Like Matisse, Kandinsky uses colour not to describe reality, but to express an inner vision, to create a world that is both familiar and strange. Ultimately, art is about asking questions rather than providing answers.