Known for his distinctive and vibrant style, Vincent Van Gogh painted many works that brim with expressive movement. From Starry Night (1889) to Sunflowers (1888), thick brushstrokes weave an undulating spectacle: stars winked and petals swayed. According to many art historians, Van Gogh likely experienced chromesthesia — a synesthetic experience of the senses that entailed a reflexive association of sound with colours.

In one of the many letters addressed to his brother, Van Gogh mused, “Some artists have a nervous hand at drawing, which gives their technique something of the sound peculiar to a violin.” He even believed that artworks were “pure music.” These fragmented writings overwhelmingly underline the association between colour and music in Van Gogh’s mind. The impression emerges all the more distinctly when the painter decided to learn how to play the piano in 1883. Over the course of two years, Van Gogh remarked that every note called to his mind a precise colour. Troubled about such an eccentric outlook, his teacher not only refused to continue the lessons but also declared the student insane.

In addition to being an abstract painter, Wassily Kandinsky was also a cellist and synesthete. Motivated by the inextricable linkage between music and colour in his mind, the Russian artist created an iconic collection of abstract paintings that substantiated how he regarded each musical note with a particular hue. He once said, “The sound of colours is so definite that it would be hard to find anyone who would express bright yellow with bass notes or dark lake with treble.”

Although Kandinsky never affirmed his synesthesia, he was openly interested in the systemic correspondence between colours and timbres of specific musical instruments. With a visual symphony in mind, he also strove to reproduce it in his artworks. As vivid and definite as the musical vision may be to the painter, however, the whole construction ultimately only stemmed from his personal perceptions, feelings, cultural environment, and influences.