Wassily Kandinsky was born in Moscow on December 4, 1866. He spent his early childhood in Odessa and learned the piano and cello at an early age. He would become one of the most influential artists and theorists of the 20th century.In 1886, however, he studied Law and Economics, at Moscow University. It wasn't until 1896 that he went to Munich to study art. In 1911, along with other German painters, he formed an art group called 'Der Blauer Reiter.' He produced many abstract paintings during this time, full of brilliant colours and complex patterns.At the beginning of World War I, Kandinsky returned to Russia and became a teacher. It was then that he married 16-year-old Nina de Andrejevski.After the war, Kandinsky returned to Germany and became professor at the 'Bauhaus of Weimar.' Kandinsky received German nationality in 1928 but he moved to France and settled there with his wife. He died there in 1944 at the age of 78. Many people admire Kandinsky's beautiful paintings to this day and recognise him as one of the first explorers of abstract art.