Vasilii Kandinsky, Aleksandra Unkovskaia and the Other

Abstract The article describes how Vasilii Kandinsky combined the “logical” and the “illogical” in his approach to the theory and practice of painting, especially during the period of his Improvisations and Compositions . To this end, attention is paid both to the exact sciences and to the esoteric or “Other”, including Theosophy and its immediate effect on Kandinsky’s tract, “On the Spiritual in Art”. Particular reference is made to the Theosophist and music teacher, Aleksandra Zakhar’ina-Unkovskaia, and, specifically, to the influence of her interpretations of music, colour and number on Kandinsky’s aesthetic development.