Apparently is the key word here. At that time Europe was awash with art vaguely inspired by spiritual gurus. As the article mentions, Theosophy (the likes of Md

Apparently is the key word here. At that time Europe was awash with art vaguely inspired by spiritual gurus. As the article mentions, Theosophy (the likes of Mdm. Blavatsky) and Anthroposophy (Rudolph Steiner). Kandinsky evolved to be the most well known. Before Steiner and Blavatsky, there was Goethe. Before Kandinsky there was Leadbeater. I teach art history (disclaimer… I am not an art historian). Too many times I have seen standard art history canon questioned on grounds that later prove to be questionable. The sad fact is that art history is most of all a question of ‘first past the post’, with little regard to inherent merit. Once written, it is very hard to unwrite.