Kandinsky

From 15 September 2026 to 14 February 2027, Palazzo Bonaparte is hosting a prestigious exhibition dedicated to the brilliant Russian artist, a key figure in the birth of abstract art.

Organised by Arthemisia in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou, the exhibition traces the life and art of the painter who revolutionised contemporary art, from his studies in Law and Economics at the University of Moscow to his establishment as one of the absolute protagonists of the European avant-garde.

Curated by Angela Lampe, the exhibition winds through five sections and features over seventy works from international collections and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, exploring the various phases of Kandinsky’s artistic research, from his figurative early works to his time in Munich, from Der Blaue Reiter to the years of revolutionary Russia, to his experience at the Bauhaus and his final years in Paris. The exhibition also highlights the role of the two women who profoundly influenced the artist’s life: his partner Gabriele Münter, a representative of German Expressionism, featured with a significant selection of works and documentary materials,  and his wife Nina Kandinsky, whose bequest to the Centre Pompidou has ensured the preservation of the painter’s artistic legacy.

The exhibition also explores the origins of Kandinsky’s abstract thinking, inspired by his encounter with Claude Monet’s The Haystacks and by listening to Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin – experiences through which the artist developed the idea that art, through a shape or a colour, could evoke emotion even without faithfully representing reality.

Among the masterpieces displayed are Gelb-Rot-Blau(1925), one of Kandinsky’s most significant works, and The Black Arch (1912), one of the most emblematic examples of his abstract style, accompanied by documents, photographs, personal effects and materials from the Bibliothèque Kandinsky, as well as an evocative immersive room that guides visitors through the artist’s visual universe, amidst geometries and colours.

Under the patronage of the French Embassy in Italy, the Lazio Region and the Municipality of Rome – Assessorato alla Cultura e al Coordinamento delle iniziative riconducibili alla Giornata della Memoria – the exhibition is produced and organised by Arthemisia in collaboration with the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and is curated by Angela Lampe, curator of the modern collections at the Musée national d’art moderne, with scientific and editorial consultancy for the educational content provided by Francesca Villanti. The main partner of the exhibition is the Fondazione Terzo Pilastro – Internazionale, together with Fondazione Cultura e Arte and Poema.

Cover image: Vassily Kandinsky, Park von Saint-Cloud, dunkle Allee (Le Parc de Saint-Cloud,allée ombragée) 1906, Huile sur toile, 48x65 cm, Legs de Nina Kandinsky, 1981, Centre Pompidou, Parigi, Musée national d’art moderne – Centre de création industrielle