Denis and Kandinsky were both pioneers of abstract or non-objective art. Although they arrived at this style of art independently and through different means, they shared some common influences and ideas.
Denis was influenced by the work of Paul Gauguin and his use of bright colors and simplified forms to express emotions and ideas. He was also influenced by the Symbolist movement, which sought to express the ineffable through symbolic imagery. Denis believed that art should be spiritual and evoke a sense of the divine.
Kandinsky, on the other hand, arrived at non-objective painting through his interest in spiritualism, Theosophy, and the study of color theory. He believed that art should be a pure expression of the artist's inner world and that color, line, and form could be used to evoke emotions and spiritual experiences.
Kandinsky wrote extensively about color, and his theories on color were central to his artistic practice. He believed that colors had an inherent spiritual and emotional power and that they could be used to convey complex ideas and feelings. Kandinsky wrote in his book "Concerning the Spiritual in Art" that "color is a power which directly influences the soul. Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the hammers, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another purposively, to cause vibrations in the soul."