Kandinsky and The Blue Rider
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,History & Criticism
Kandinsky and The Blue Rider Details
Amazon.com Review After Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc resigned from the New Association of Munich Artists, they concentrated their efforts on the publication of The Blue Rider, an art journal "with contributions written exclusively by artists" and inspired by "a shared faith in a spiritual renewal of our civilization." With contributors both distinguished and obscure, the journal joined advanced contemporary work and antique folk art. Despite financial problems and politicking between associates, the publication was an enormous success. Unfortunately, the coming of World War I squelched the planning of the next edition, and the first The Blue Rider remained the last. Even so, The Blue Rider and the artists who created it made a lasting impression on art and art journals that followed it. Read more Review The book ably re-creates a herd of highly interesting mavericks. It also has excellent illustrations. -- The Atlantic MonthlyThis lavishly illustrated book brings together some of the most vivid and imaginative paintings of a remarkable period of European art history. In addition to great coverage of the work of Kandinsky, it includes some of my favorite paintings by Franz Marc and even obscure works by the 12-tone composer, Arnold Schoenberg. It occupies a place of honor in my living room. -- Another Amazon.com Books Review Read more See all Editorial Reviews
Reviews
This is a somewhat different kind of art book in that it covers a particular albeit critical period in the artistic life of Wassily Kandinsky, the great abstract art innovator. The book includes art from the years leading up to Kandinsky's 1912 seminal publication on modern art, Der Blaue Reiter, including himself , associates and a few contemporaries mentioned in Der Blaue Reiter. This period saw Kandinsky and other artists move from a semi abstract style to increasing full abstraction. Thus almost all of the paintings in this book are not completely abstract but have varying degrees of connection to visual scenes.Kandinsky was rather more intellectual than most painters. Despite an interest in art, he voluntarily pursued the study of Russian law and actually conducted a study of legal practices in rural communities. So he was 30 before he finally decided to become a painter and moved to Munich. There in the art schools he met a number of sympatico artists (Franz Marc, August Macke, Alexei Jawlensky and Gabriele Munter ) who formed the group known as the Blue Riders based on a recurrent motif in Kandinsky's paintings of the time.The impressionistic or semi abstract paintings of Kandinsky are startling in their colors and evocativeness. Some of them are scenes of "Old Russia" as Kandinsky termed it or Russian fairy tales. Others are just landscapes or city scenes of powerful originality. Some of the most remarkable drawings are alternate and unused cover illustrations for his publication Der Blaue Reiter. It is amusing to see the plain bookish woodcut illustration actually used and the wild illustrations that were discarded. As mentioned, selected paintings by Kandinsky's associates or painters mentioned in the Der Blaue Reiter are also included. Thus a sense of the time and circumstances that created the Blaur Reiter and the move to outright abstraction are brought back to life. Be happy that such a remarkable book is available at low prices.