One of the first abstract artists and a key figure in the history of modern art. He argued that colour and form can communicate as much as definite subject matter and that emotion and feel are as important as order and control. He was inspired by Monet's colour and composition and at the age of 30 moved to Munich to study art. At first he painted representational images, but after 1908 he began to remove recognisable forms from his work and use areas of strong colour to stimulate the viewer. In 1911 he founded Der Blaue Reiter group with Franz Marc and painted increasingly expressive, abstract works. He returned to Russia during WWI but in 1921 went back to Germany where he taught at the Bauhaus School, along with Paul Klee.