What Does Colour Sound Like? Kandinsky and Music

In this latest episode of ‘Listening in’, I look at the work of Russian artist Wassily Kandinsky and how his paintings were influenced by music. Kandinsky had synesthesia, which meant that when he heard sounds, he saw colour and when he saw colour, he heard music. In this essay, I consider how he thought about colour and form (including what he thought some colours sounded like), as well as considering how his push towards abstraction was to achieve the freedom of expression he felt music had already attained. In particularly, I focus on his 10 ‘Compositions’, which seem to be the pinnacle of his abstract work, and possibly the closest he ever got to music in art.