In paintings such as Composition VI, Kandinsky likened the emotional impact of colors and lines to

• A. Music
• B. Sculpture
• C. Dance
• D. Poetry

Answer: (A)

Kandinsky argued that color and line can evoke feelings in the viewer just as music does. In Composition VI, the dynamic combination of bold colors, diagonal and curving lines, and rhythmic balance creates a mood and movement that reads like a visual melody. He treated color as having tonal quality and line as carrying rhythm, so the painting can be experienced emotionally in a way similar to listening to a musical piece. This idea—that abstract art can express inner states through harmonious and orchestrated visual elements—is why music is the best match. The other forms—sculpture about physical mass, dance about bodily movement, poetry about words—don’t convey that same nonverbal, auditory-like resonance Kandinsky sought to achieve in painting.