Kandinsky began his career in Russia as a painter of realistic landscapes, but over time, his work became increasingly abstract. His rigorous intellectual and spiritual exploration of color and form helped him become one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century. Kandinsky worked in Munich before World War I, later moving to the Bauhaus School in Dessau, Germany. By the time he painted Penetrating Green, he was living in Paris and had begun introducing biomorphic forms into his compositions. These works reflect not only Kandinsky’s interest in biology but also reveal the influence of Surrealist paintings, such as the works of Joan Miró (on view nearby).