Many things inspire artists, but one of the most coherent of these is in fact their beliefs. These beliefs shape their interpretations of the world surrounding them. The world surrounding them helps to form these beliefs also. These beliefs can be viewed through a study of different works such as figurative and non-figurative works, like Wassily Kandinsky and Buonarroti Michelangelo. Works with cultural context also show these beliefs, by Rover Thomas and Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri. Also, works with historical context can reveal much about interpretations of the world shaped by beliefs. Artists who explore this historical context include Kasimir Malevich and Paul Cézanne.

Figurative and non-figurative works are vital for the understanding of artists' interpretations of the world shaped by their beliefs because they deal with components such as emotion. Wassily Kandinsky was a successful artist who created figurative paintings with colour theory related to music. His...