ABSTRACT ART: ORIGIN, MOVEMENTS, AND THE LEGACY OF A VISUAL REVOLUTION
Much more than an aesthetic rupture, abstract art was a spiritual and sensory revolution. By breaking away from figurative representation, it opened new ways of seeing, feeling, and thinking about art.
Mountains and Sea by Helen Frankenthaler (1952)
At the dawn of the 20th century, while Europe trembled under the effects of industrial progress and the social tensions that would foreshadow two world wars, a group of artists began to question the foundations of Western pictorial tradition. Why should art remain bound to the representation of the visible world? What would happen if painting gave up the duty of reproducing recognizable objects? From these concerns, abstract art was born: a visual revolution that forever transformed the way we conceive art.
Although its roots can be traced back to ancient artistic expressions such as geometric signs in cave paintings or Romanesque mosaics, abstract art as a defined movement officially emerged around 1910, led by Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky. In his famous theoretical work Concerning the Spiritual in Art (1911), Kandinsky argued that art should strive for an emotional and spiritual connection, both for the creator and the viewer. Figurative art, he claimed, limited that experience. Thus, he took the first steps toward a new form of expression: "pure art," stripped of any external reference.
THE ORIGIN: A SPIRITUAL MANIFESTO
The origin of modern abstract art was shaped by a gradual challenge to rigid artistic canons. Important precedents can be found in 19th-century experimentation with light and color perception by the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, followed by the vibrant forms of Fauvism and the geometric breakdown of Cubism.
However, the founding milestone occurred in 1910 with the appearance of the First Abstract Watercolor by Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944). Kandinsky is recognized not only for his work but also for being the first theorist of this new aesthetic. In his foundational book Concerning the Spiritual in Art (1911), the artist explored the spiritual quality of shapes and colors, establishing the emotional and intimate connection that should exist between art and the viewer. This spiritual and emotional approach, distancing itself from figurative references, incorporated notions such as freedom, autonomy, and intuition.
Curiously, the first works of modern abstraction unknown until 1986 were created by Swedish painter Hilma af Klint (1862–1944). Drawing on her spiritual experiences, Klint reached a level of pure geometric abstraction before Kandinsky. Aware that her work would not be understood in her time, she requested that it not be exhibited until 20 years after her death. Despite these early discoveries, it was Kandinsky who, around 1912, established the foundations of lyrical abstraction as a coherent, modern, and international art movement.
Gaea by Lee Krasner (1966)
TWO BRANCHES OF ABSTRACTION: GESTURE AND CALCULATION
The vast universe of abstract art splits into two essential branches, distinguished by their philosophical principles and compositional methods: lyrical abstraction and geometric abstraction.
EXPRESSIVE ABSTRACT ART (LYRICAL, INFORMAL, OR EMOTIONAL)
This branch is subjective, spontaneous, intuitive, and often improvised. The focus is on the artist’s expressiveness and the feeling evoked by the work, without relying on strict structures. Gesture, materiality, and interpretive ambiguity prevail. Within this current, compositions are energetic and vibrant, using curved and organic forms and intense colors.
Notable movements of lyrical abstraction include:
LYRICAL ABSTRACTION: The initial trend, driven by Kandinsky, aimed to connect with spirituality.
ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM (1940s): Originated in the United States. Its leading figure, Jackson Pollock (1912–1956), popularized innovative techniques such as dripping (dripping paint onto the canvas) and action painting (applying paint with semi-automatic body movements), emphasizing spontaneity and energetic gestures.
INFORMALISM: Developed in parallel with Abstract Expressionism, it focused on experimentation with unconventional materials and techniques.
GESTURALISM OR ACTION PAINTING (1945).
RAYONISM (c. 1912): Focused on the rhythmic arrangement of light and color.
Yellow-Red-Blue by Wassily Kandinsky (1925)
GEOMETRIC ABSTRACTION (STRUCTURAL OR RATIONAL)
In contrast, geometric abstraction is rationalist, objective, and universal. It aims to be planned and structured. It avoids all personal expressiveness through the use of basic geometric forms (squares, triangles, circles) and lines, advocating for impersonal execution and seeking to evoke clarity and precision.
This current comprises movements based on logical and calculated structures:
SUPREMATISM (1915): Founded by Kazimir Malevich (1879–1935), it focused on the absolute values of flat geometry and basic compositional elements, such as the square on a white background (Black Square on White Background, 1915).
NEOPLASTICISM (1917): Also known as De Stijl, founded by Piet Mondrian (1872–1944). This movement reduced geometric elements to perpendicular lines and strictly limited the color palette.
CONSTRUCTIVISM (c. 1914): Represented by figures like El Lissitzky (1890–1941), who based his work on spatial geometry and constructive principles. Lissitzky believed in art serving society and collaborated with the Russian Revolution.
KINETIC ART OR CINETISM (1967): Explored movement through optical effects, mobile elements, or interaction between viewer and artwork, manipulating light, color, and time.
MINIMALISM OR PRIMARY STRUCTURES (1968): Based on the absolute economy of material resources and the reduction of formal structures.
The polarization between lyrical abstraction, which enhances subjectivity, and geometric abstraction, which seeks objectivity, gave rise to an immense diversity of trends and styles that have profoundly influenced all of contemporary visual culture.
Convergence by Jackson Pollock (1952)
A LIVING LEGACY
Today, more than a century after Kandinsky’s First Abstract Watercolor, abstract art remains a source of inspiration and a fertile ground for experimentation. Its influence extends far beyond galleries: it’s present in graphic design, architecture, fashion, and even in the interface design of digital applications.
Artists like Hilma af Klint, whose abstract works even predated Kandinsky’s but remained hidden for decades, are being enthusiastically rediscovered in the 21st century. Her work, based on spiritual experiences and mystical symbols, confirms that abstract art was not only a formal innovation, but also a search for meaning in a changing world.
Abstract art does not represent the world it reinvents it. In a century marked by speed, war, technology, and the fragmentation of certainties, this movement offered a bold response: an art that speaks with the simplest elements a line, a color, a shape yet aspires to express the most complex aspects of the human being. In that gesture, even today, its revolutionary force continues to pulse.