Wassily Kandinsky

1 8.5

A Russian painter who wrote about art and helped create abstract art

proper noun

: Wassily Kandinsky

Did you know that Wassily Kandinsky was a pioneer of abstract art?

Examples

Wassily Kandinsky revolutionized modern art with his abstract compositions.
Art students often study Wassily Kandinsky for his theories on color and form.
Many museums feature works by Wassily Kandinsky in their permanent collections.
The works of Wassily Kandinsky are celebrated worldwide.
Wassily Kandinsky revolutionized modern art with his abstract compositions.
Many museums feature works by Wassily Kandinsky in their permanent collections.
Did you know that Wassily Kandinsky was a pioneer of abstract art?

Synonyms

Kandinsky

vsWassily Kandinsky

6 8.6

A Russian painter who helped start abstract art

uses the full personal name rather than the short form

Surface Forms

Wassily Kandinsky main

Morphology

Wassily + Kandinsky

This is a proper name referring to a specific individual; the elements 'Wassily' and 'Kandinsky' are personal names rather than compositional lexical items, so knowing those forms does not allow a learner to infer that the referent is a Russian painter and pioneer of abstract art. Proper names rely on world knowledge, not predictable combination of constituent meanings, so the expression is opaque to a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words.

Etymology

Wassily Kandinsky was a Russian painter who helped start 'abstract art'. One famous story says he felt a strong call to paint after seeing a picture that moved him. He used color and shape to show feelings instead of real objects, and that's why his name is linked to 'abstract art'.