Room 10 is devoted to Wassily Kandinsky, widely hailed as the founder of abstract art. His series entitled Impressions, Improvisations and Compositions consists of non-figurative shapes and swathes of colour, and heralded a move away from an obsession with subject towards a passion for the creative process itself. The lyrical quality of the series, not unlike that of a musical riff, introduced the art world to the importance of the existence of the artist and, more precisely, the guiding force of the artist's spirituality in the creation of each piece.Sonia Delaunay, another pioneer of abstract art, is represented in room 12 by a number of her characteristically colourful paintings. In the wonderfully vibrant Marché de Minho (1916), the juxtaposition of colours makes some appear to recede and others come forward, creating a shimmering effect; Delaunay believed that colours influence each other and create vibrations by being placed side by side, bringing the painting to life.
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