Impression IV 1911

Kandinsky made this painting, Impression IV, with oil paint. And he really went for it! It's all about how marks and colours can explode on a surface and somehow still give you a feeling, like the feeling of a memory. Look how the colors aren't trying to be realistic, but they still feel like something real. See how the horse and rider aren't precise, but just these big, juicy strokes? It's like he's saying, "I don't need to copy what I see, I can just make you *feel* it." There's this dark, almost black stroke that defines the horse's leg – it’s so direct, so confident. It doesn’t blend, it just *is*. I love how it just slices through the softer, more blended colors around it. You could compare this to his later, more abstract works, but here, he's still got one foot in the real world, using that to kick off into pure feeling.