KANDINSKY, W.; MARC, F.; LANKHEIT, K. (EDS.)

NEW YORK: VIKING PRESS; MACMILLAN (1974), 296PP. DOCUMENTS OF 20TH CENTURY ART. 145 ILLUS. BIOG. BIBLIOG.

THIS FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDITION, WHICH CORRECTS AND SUPPLEMENTS THE GERMAN EDITION OF 1965 (ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN 1912), INCORPORATES WORKS PUBLISHED AFTER THAT DATE. THE THEME OF THE ALMANAC WAS TO MAKE MODERN ARTISTIC CURRENTS ACCESSIBLE TO THE EUROPEAN AVANT-GARDE, AND IT GAVE A COMMON SPIRITUAL BASIS TO DER BLAUE REITER SEARCH FOR A TOTAL SYNTHESIS OF INTERNATIONAL CULTURE. PRESENTED IN ITS ENTIRETY, THE ALMANAC CONTAINS ARTICLES BY MARC, SCHONBERG, DELAUNAY, MACKE AND OTHERS, AN ORIGINAL PLAY BY KANDINSKY AND HIS ESSAY 'ON THE PROBLEM OF FORM', AND ALL THE REPRODUCTIONS SELECTED BY MARC AND KANDINSKY OF ANCIENT, PRIMITIVE AND CONTEMPORARY ART. LETTERS, FIRST DRAFTS OF PREFACES AND MUSICAL EXAMPLES WRITTEN BY THEM DURING THE ALMANAC'S PREPARATION ARE INCORPORATED, WITH A CRITICAL AND HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION BY KLAUS LANKHEIT, AND A BIBLIOGRAPHY AND BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES EDITED AND SUPPLEMENTED BY BERNARD KARPEL.

Fathke, Bernd

Weltkunst (Germany), vol. 70, no. 13, 1 Nov. 2000, pp. 2218-19, (1 colour)

Discusses the circumstances surrounding the departure of Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc from the Neue Kunstlervereinigung Munchen in 1911. The author explains how Kandinsky and Marc conspired to bring about a confrontation between the Union and their own undisclosed group Der Blaue Reiter by organizing a clandestine exhibition and preparing their almanac, and by Kandinsky submitting the painting Komposition V (1911; illus.) to the admissions jury for the Union's Dec. exhibition, which knowingly contravened the regulations on size, and the subsequent rejection of which served as a pretext for the row, and led to the eventual demise of the Union. He outlines the involvement of artist colleagues and wives, and highlights the unswerving commitment of Marianne von Werefkin to the Union and to the work of Kandinsky.

Hopfengart, Christine

Kultur Berichte (Germany), no. 1, 2000, pp. 41-3, 5 illus.

Discusses aspects of the Blauer Reiter movement on the occasion of an exhibition of paintings, works on paper, and the publication Almanach der Blaue Reiter at the Kunsthalle Bremen in Bremen, Germany (25 March-12 June 2000). The author explains how the exhibition complements previous shows on the Blauer Reiter in Germany in recent years, and connects with two events in the cultural history of Bremen in the early part of the 20th century, the pamphlet Protest deutscher Kunstler (1911), and as the fourth stage of the first touring exhibition of the Blaue Reiter in 1912. She surveys the scope of the current presentation of the three main areas of activity which occupied Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, and August Macke, and concludes by describing the importance of the focus on extracts from the movement's Almanach for an understanding of its position and its relationship to the performing arts and the folk art tradition.

DA14chting, Hajo

Weltkunst (Germany), vol. 62, no. 13, 1 July 1992, pp. 1800, 1 illus.

Focuses on Der Blaue Reiter, a Munich-based art movement which first came to public attention on 18 Dec. 1911 at their exhibition at the Moderne Galerie Heinrich Thannhauser in Munich. Der Blaue Reiter was originally the title of an almanac designed by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc; Kandinsky wished to overcome the barrier of materials and fight for the spiritual dimension in art. The 1911 exhibition included works by August Macke, Robert Delaunay, Elisabeth Epstein and Henri Rousseau. Delaunay's works were the most widely understood by the public whereas Kandinsky's abstracts were criticized for being merely decorative. The second exhibition to feature their works was entitled Schwarz-Weiss and contained 315 works, including those of Picasso, Braque and Klee. The last exhibition to feature the works of Der Blaue Reiter was at the Deutsche Herbstsalon in Berlin (Autumn-Winter 1913), by which time Kandinsky and Marc were already disappointed at their lack of success. The outbreak of the First World War brought an abrupt end to this period of modern art in Germany, yet, the author concludes, despite its brief lifespan, Der Blaue Reiter laid the foundation for a new spirituality in German art.

Hoberg, Annegret

Munich: Prestel. 1989, 288 pp. 193 illus. (120 colour) biog. bibliog. ISBN: 3-7913-0850-0

Presents a selection of works by leading members of the Blaue Reiter from the collection of the Lenbachhaus in Munich, each illustration being accompanied by a detailed explanatory commentary. In the introduction, the author discusses the origins of the Blaue Reiter, which was founded by a group of artists of the Munich New Artists' Association, who had resigned from the Association over the jury's rejection of a painting by Wassily Kandinsky. Also discussed is the artistic climate in Munich, the Phalanx association, the Neue Kunstlervereining in Munich, and the influence on 20th century art of the Blue Rider. Artists whose works are presented are Franz Marc, Wassily Kandinsky, Gabriele MA14nter, Alexei Jawlensky, August Macke and Paul Klee.

Dornberg, John

ARTnews (U.S.A.), vol. 86, no. 10, Dec. 1987, pp. 77-8, 80, 5 illus. (3 colour)

The Blaue Reiter movement was born in two Bavarian towns, Murnau and Kochel am See, where three German artists, Kandinsky, Gabriele MA14nter and Franz Marc, had fled from Munich, in order to develop their own style of painting - modernist with the emphasis on Cubism. Museums have been set up in both towns, preserving the houses where these artists worked. The author describes the interiors and contents of the museums and gives short biographies of the artists.

Schaefer, Patrick

Oeil (Switzerland), no. 377, Dec. 1986, pp. 50-5, 6 illus. (3 colour)

An article celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Blaue Reiter movement founded in Munich in 1911, with particular emphasis on its two main protagonists, Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) and Franz Marc (1880-1916). It grew out of Kandinsky's interest in replacing the subject in painting, was part of an evolution towards abstraction, and drew on many modern Eurepean and African artistic tendencies as well as contemporary music. It was not so much a structured group as a series of meetings and exhibitions, in the atmosphere of intense creativity just before the First World War.

GOLLEK, R.

MUNICH, G.F.R.: PRESTEL VERLAG (1974), 320PP. MATERIALIEN ZUR KUNST DES 19. JAHRHUNDERTS, 12. 396 ILLUS. BIBLIOG.

THIS CATALOGUE LISTS ALL OIL PAINTINGS, WATERCOLOURS, DRAWINGS, STAINED GLASS AND LITHOGRAPHS BY MEMBERS OF THE BLAUER REITER AND THE MUNICH KUNSTLER-VEREINIGUNG IN THE POSSESSION OF THE GALLERY. ALL THE WORKS ARE ILLUSTRATED. THE COLLECTION HAS BEEN FORMED FROM THE CONTENTS OF THE GABRIELE MUNTER BEQUEST OF 1957 AND THE BERNHARD KOEHLER BEQUEST OF 1965, AND OFFERS A REVIEW OF THE WORK OF KANDINSKY (UP TO 1914), FRANZ MARC AND AUGUST MACKE. THE WORKS ARE LISTED ALPHABETICALLY BY ARTIST AND THEIR PROVENANCE DESCRIBED CONCISELY. THE INTRODUCTION DESCRIBES THE SITUATION WHICH RESULTED IN THE FORMATION OF THE MUNICH NEUE KUNSTLER-VEREINIGUNG AND THE BLAUER REITER, AND, IN AN APPENDIX, THE CATALOGUE OF THE NEUE KUNSTLER-VEREINIGUNG AND BLAUE REITER EXHIBITIONS FROM 1909-12 ARE REPRODUCED WITH TITLE PAGES, INTRODUCTIONS AND COMPLETE ILLUSTRATIONS.

VOGT, P.

IN: EXPRESSIONISM: A GERMAN INTUITION 1905-1920, EDITED BY J. GREENSPUN, P. 192-9, 321-5. ALSO IN GERMAN.

A SURVEY OF THE DEVELOPMENT AND AIMS OF THE BLAUE REITER GROUP OF ARTISTS, WHO HAD AS THEIR MOTTO: 'THE RENEWAL MUST NOT BE FORMAL; IT IS A REBIRTH IN THINKING'. THE AUTHOR DESCRIBES HOW, WITH KANDINSKY AND MARC AND TO A LESSER EXTENT MACKE AND MUNTER AS THE PIVOTAL FORCE, THE BLAUE REITER SOUGHT TO PROVIDE NEW SIGNPOSTS FOR A SOCIETY THEY SAW AS DISEASED, PUBLISHING AN ALMANAC FROM WHICH THE GROUP TOOK ITS NAME AND WHICH PRESENTED AN AGGLOMERATION OF MUSIC AND FINE ARTS, SCIENCE, LITERATURE, AND DISPLAYED PRIMITIVE MASKS AND SCULPTURES AS WELL AS CLASSICAL WORKS FROM ANTIQUITY, IN THE BELIEF THAT THE ARTIST'S POSITION WAS THE POINT OF ENTRY BETWEEN THE WORLD OF EXTERNAL REALITY AND HIS INNER EXPRESSIVE WORLD. THE AUTHOR CONCLUDES WITH DISCUSSION OF THE TWO EXHIBITIONS STAGED BY THE GROUP IN 1911 AND 1912 AND THE TERMINATION OF THE COOPERATIVE WORK IN MUNICH AND ELSEWHERE WITH THE OUTBREAK OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR.

Spagnesi, Licia

Arte (Italy), no. 362, Oct. 2003, pp. 53-6, (7 colour)

On the occasion of the exhibition Il Cavaliere Azzurro 1908-1914: Kandinsky, Marc e i Loro Amici on show at the Fondazione Antonio Mazzotta in Milan (18 Oct. 2003-20 Jan. 2004), studies the Blaue Reiter group in Munich. The author cites the German artist Franz Marc's statement of the aims of the Blaue Reiter, focuses on the group's exploration of the importance of colour in their work, highlighting Kandinsky's description of the characteristics and musical tendencies of colours, and examines the meaning of the group's name. She considers the inclusion in the exhibition of work by Kandinsky, Munter, Jawlensky, and Werefkin dating from 1908 to 1911, as well as Marc and Kandinsky's Blaue Reiter Almanac, a joint publication featuring work by artists including Macke, Munter, Kubin, Campendonck, Klee, Kirchner, Nolde, Muller, Heckel, Pechstein, Picasso, Cezanne, van Gogh, Gauguin, Matisse, El Greco, Delaunay, Rousseau, Goncharova, Larionov, and Malevich, and concludes by outlining the objectives of Marc and Kandinsky's work.

Kramer, Hilton

New Criterion (U.S.A.), vol. 22, no. 4, Dec. 2003, pp. 68-72

On the occasion of the exhibition Schoenberg, Kandinsky, and the Blue Rider on show at the Jewish Museum in New York (24 Oct. 2003-12 Feb. 2004), considers the achievements of the Blaue Reiter painters, and of the Viennese artist and composer Arnold Schoenberg in particular. The author explains that tensions led the Russian-born artist Wassily Kandinsky to resign his presidency of the Munich-based Neue Kunstlervereinigung and to form the Blaue Reiter group in 1911, along with the German painters Gabriele Munter and Franz Marc, and the Russians Alexei von Jawlensky and Marianne von Werefkin, and lists artists associated with its two exhibitions, who included Robert Delaunay, Henri Rousseau, the Burliuk brothers, and Albert Bloch in Munich (1911), and Picasso, Braque, de Vlaminck, and Klee in Berlin (1912). He questions the basis on which Kandinsky sought Schoenberg's contribution, interrogating perceived links with his treatise `Uber das Geistige in der Kunst', and concludes by criticizing the uneven exposure given by the curators to Kandinsky, Marc, August Macke, Bloch, Munter, von Jawlensky, and Schoenberg, who is represented by 36 canvases, as well as recordings of his compositions.

RUBIN, D. S.

ARTS MAGAZINE (U.S.A.), VOL. 51, NO. 10 (JUNE 1977), P. 18. IN ENGLISH. 1 ILLUS.

THE EXHIBITION OF WORKS BY THE BLAUE REITER GROUP AT THE LEONARD HUTTON GALLERY, NEW YORK (18 MARCH-28 MAY 1977) ILLUSTRATES WHY SOME MEMBERS HAVE BECOME ACKNOWLEDGED MASTERS WHILE OTHERS HAVE REMAINED OBSCURE. THE BEST WORK SHOWS A DESIRE TO PUSH ART AS THEN CONCEIVED TO ITS EXTREMITIES AND THIS COURAGE TO DEVIATE FROM EXISTING NORMS IS COUPLED WITH AN EXTRAORDINARY TECHNICAL VIRTUOSITY. THE ACCEPTED LEADER OF THE GROUP, AND ITS ONLY MEMBER TO COMBINE BOTH OF GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM'S MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS CONSISTENTLY, WAS KANDINSKY. HIS INTENSE AND RAW COLOUR JUXTAPOSITION MAKE MARC'S EXHIBITED WORKS SEEM COLOURISTICALLY BLAND, WHILE STRONG ABSTRACTION DISTINGUISHES HIS WORK FROM THAT OF MACKE OR YAWLENSKY. ALTHOUGH MACKE'S COLOURS ARE RICH AND POTENT, HIS FORMS STILL RETAIN THE BOUNDARIES OF NATURAL PHENOMENA AND THUS RESTRICT THE GROWTH OF AN OVERPOWERING FORMAL ENERGY LIKE KANDINSKY'S. YAWLENSKY'S MASTERY OF TEXTURE MANAGES TO TRANSCEND THE LIMITATIONS OF FIGURATION, HOWEVER. FEW OF THE OTHER ARTISTS ACHIEVED THE LEVEL OF COMPOSITIONAL OR COLOURISTIC COMPETENCY OF THESE PAINTERS. THE KLEES IN THE EXHIBITION DESERVE MENTION FOR THEIR EXEMPLARY WIT AND COMPOSITIONAL EXCELLENCE, BUT ARE DRAWN FROM THE BAUHAUS YEARS AND THUS SEEM CHRONOLOGICALLY OUT OF PLACE.

KANDINSKY, W.

NEW YORK: DOVER PUBLICATIONS; LONDON: CONSTABLE (1977), XXIII+74PP. 21 ILLUS. BIBLIOG.

UNABRIDGED REPUBLICATION OF THE 1914 ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE BOOK BY KANDINSKY ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED UNDER THE TITLE 'THE ART OF SPIRITUAL HARMONY', TRANSLATED AND WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY MICHAEL T. H. SADLER. THERE IS A NEW PREFACE BY RICHARD STRATTON PLACING KANDINSKY WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF RUSSIAN AVANT-GARDE ART OF THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY.

Diez, Renato

Arte (Italy), no. 316, Dec. 1999, pp. 152-8, (7 colour)

Considers the recent success of German and Austrian art, with particular reference to the increase of auction houses' sales since Christie's initiated the Austrian and German Art Sale in 1993. The author examines the quality and rarity of the artists' works, notes the beginning of sales of German art at Sotheby's in 1997, and considers the increase in prices achieved in sales. He notes exhibitions of German art, including a show on German Expressionism at Palazzo Grassi in Venice (1997) and a recent exhibition at the Fondazione Antonio Mazzotta in Milan (Dec. 1999), which includes art works from the Brucke-Museum in Berlin, and focuses on the work of Germany- and Austria-based artists sold at the auction houses, with reference to that of Emil Nolde, Ernst-Ludwig Kirchner, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Otto Mueller, Max Pechstein, Otto Dix, George Grosz, Ludwig Meidner, Wassily Kandinsky, Edvard Munch, Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Franz Marc, August Macke, Oskar Schlemmer, Alexei von Jawlensky, Gerhard Richter, Anselm Kiefer, and Georg Baselitz.

Diez, Renato

Arte (Italy), no. 358, June 2003, pp. 36, (4 colour)

On the occasion of the exhibition Expressive! on show at the Fondation Beyeler in Basle (June-Aug. 2003), traces the influence of Expressionism on contemporary art. The author considers the success of German Expressionism in recent times, notes the inclusion in the exhibition of work by artists who influenced the German Expressionist movement, namely El Greco, van Gogh, Gauguin, Munch, Ensor, and the French Fauves, and outlines the core of the exhibition, which includes work by members of Die Brucke and Der Blaue Reiter. He examines the influence of historical Expressionism on Neo-Expressionist artists and the Nuovi Selvaggi, highlighting Baselitz, Clemente, and Basquiat, and concludes by considering the presentation in the exhibition of one of the American artist Bruce Nauman's video-installations dating from 1992. Other artists included in the exhibition are Picasso, Beckmann, Dubuffet, Bacon, de Kooning, Warhol, Kirchner, Heckel, Nolde, Kandinsky, Marc, Schiele, and Kokoschka.

Magni, Paola

Arte (Italy), no. 351, Nov. 2002, pp. 57-8, (4 colour)

Discusses Expressionist art, on the occasion of the exhibition Gli Espressionisti 1905-1920 on show at the Complesso del Vittoriano in Rome (5 Oct. 2002-2 Feb. 2003), featuring works by artists including Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Franz Marc, and Macke. The author labels Expressionist art as a `cultural revolution', outlines the formation and aims of Die Brucke in Dresden in 1905 by the artists Kirchner, Heckel, Schmidt-Rottluff, Emil Nolde, and Max Pechstein, focusing on the work of Kirchner, and notes the relocation of Die Brucke from Dresden to Berlin in 1911 and the contemporaneous formation of Der Blaue Reiter in Munich by the artists Wassily Kandinsky and Marc. She outlines Kandinsky's belief in art, underlines the particular employment of colour in Expressionist art, and highlights art produced during the inter-War years by the Expressionists Max Beckmann, George Grosz, and Otto Dix, noting the dramatic quality of their work. An exhibition catalogue is available (Gabriele Mazzotta, 2002).

Beaux Arts Magazine (France), no. 175, Dec. 1998, pp. 104-110, (15 colour)

In the sixth of a series of 20 articles on 20th century art, the author examines the development of Expressionism in Germany and discusses 11 works by Expressionist painters. From 1911, the relatively vague term of Expressionism came to define artists opposed to the French aesthetic model prevailing since Impressionism and Fauvism. Expressionism was primarily an aesthetic, moral and anti-naturalist reaction which though not abandoning representation nevertheless deformed it in order to increase its expressive power. There was an essential opposition between the Die Brucke and Der Blaue Reiter groups and the movement exhibited a multiplicity of styles and methods rather than a single programme. Die Brucke had broken up by 1914, while from 1911-12 the Blaue Reiter members Franc Marc and Wassily Kandinsky, as many other artists, moved toward non-figurative painting. The works discussed include: Edvard Munch's The Scream (1893), Karl Schmidt-Rottluff's Self-portrait with Monocle (1910), Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's Street Scene in Berlin (1913), Emil Nolde's The Dance of the Golden Calf (1910), Otto Mueller's Two Naked Girls in a Landscape (c.1924), Kees Van Dongen's The Indian Dancer (1907), Alexei von Jawlensky's Girl with Peonies (1909), Franz Marc's The Yellow Cow (1911) and Wassily Kandinsky's Murnau with Church (1910), With the Black Arch (1912), and an untitled work (1910). Includes a chronology for the years 1896-1914

Gombrich, Ernst Hans

London: Phaidon, distributed in the U.S.A. by Chronicle Books, San Francisco. 1994, 688 pp. 443 illus. (379 colour) + maps, bibliog. ISBN: 0-7148-3247-2

16th edition of the book first published in 1950 in which the author traces the history of art from prehistoric times to the present. There are four chapters relevant to the scope of ABM. In `Permanent revolution: the nineteenth century', the author discusses the contribution of Manet to the move away from academicism in the mid-19th century, describes the artistic development of Monet, Degas, Renoir, Pissarro, noting the popularity of Japonisme and the treatment of movement in their works, and examines the formulation of a new role for the artist. In `In search of new standards', he considers the importance of CACOzanne's treatment of colour and composition, van Gogh's brush strokes and emotional content, and Gauguin's depiction of the exotic. In `Experimental art: the first half of the twentieth century', the author examines the emergence of Art Nouveau, the role of primitivism in the development of 20th century art, Expressionist works by artists such as Munch, Kollwitz, Kokoschka, and Die BrA14cke. He explores the origins of abstract art in the work of Kandinsky and discusses the effects of Cubism and other movements on conventional forms of representation, with reference to Picasso, Klee, Brancusi, Ben Nicholson, and Henry Moore. He describes the significance of the Surrealist movement and the advent of psychoanalysis, citing Magritte and DalASH. In `A story without end: the triumph of modernism', the author discusses the difficulties of formulating a history of art from a close perspective. He charts the development of 20th century art from the Second World War, noting the importance of Abstract Expressionism, and concludes by outlining the reasons why artists have become increasingly fashionable and why the public has become less shockable in the post-modern era.

Langmuir, Erika; Lynton, Norbert

New Haven, Connecticut: Yale Nota Bene; Yale University Press. 2000, viii+753 pp. ISBN: 0-300-06458-6; 0-300-08702-0

Comprehensive guide to almost 3000 entries on art and artists from the 13th century to the present, ranging from Waino Aaltonen and abstract art to Rachel Whiteread and watercolours, and including movements, trends, styles, schools, philosophies, media and techniques. In addition, entries on artists include name, date, nationality, primary media, works, their contribution to art, collaborations, their influence on contemporaries and followers, their status as an artist, and their major themes.