Wassily Kandinsky

The Bauhaus master was a pioneer of abstraction in western art. He believed that colors could evoke emotional responses similar to the way music does, a concept known as synesthesia. Kandinsky assigned specific emotions to colors, associating, for example, blue with calmness and spirituality, yellow with warmth, and red with aggression. He linked geometric forms to symbolism, associating the circle with spirituality and the triangle with conflict.