In our previous post we examined the Kandinsky founded movement, The Blue Rider. Ever the academic and thinker, Kandinsky was also instrumental in founding, editing and publishing The Blue Rider Almanac, the bible of the movement. First conceived in June 1911, the Der Blaue Reiter Almanach was only published later in early 1912, by Piper, Munich, in an edition of 1100 copies. On May 11 the first copy was received by Franz Marc. What were the details behind this fascinating publication?
The first volume of Der Blaue Reiter Almanach was edited by Kandinsky and Marc. Industrialist and art collector Bernhard Koehler financed the project, which features more than 140 reproduction images of artworks and 14 major articles. The major works included Marc’s essay, Spiritual Treasures, illustrated with children’s drawings, Chinese paintings, Pablo Picasso’s Woman with Mandolin at the Piano and German woodcuts; an article by French critic Roger Allard on Cubism; Arnold Schoenberg’s article The Relationship to the Text and his song, Herzgewächse; Thomas de Hartmann’s essay Anarchy in Music; an article about Alexander Scriabin’s Prometheus: The Poem of Fire; Macke’s essay Masks; an article by Erwin von Busse on Robert Delaunay, illustrated with a print of his The Window on the City; and finally, three Kandinsky essays titled On the Question of Form, On Stage Composition and The Yellow Sound.
All the published works represented a radical departure from the conventional norms and Eurocentric nature surrounding continental art at the time. The almanac, in fact, was dominated by folk, primate and children’s art, as well as South Pacific, African and Japanese artwork. The almanac also featured medieval German woodcuts and sculpture, Russian folk art, Bavarian religious art painted on glass and Egyptian puppets – a wide and varied range! Critics have often wondered if the published works were a little too eclectic: five works by Van Gogh, Cézanne, and Gauguin (considered artistic outlaws and shunned by the majority of their contemporaries) were in fact overwhelmed and outnumbered by seven from Henri Rousseau and thirteen artworks from child artists.
The historical significance of the Der Blaue Reiter Almanach cannot be understated. This was one of the first instances when a truly modernist publication organised itself and tried to spread its ideals and beliefs throughout continental Europe. Unfortunately, the start of WWI prevented a second volume from being published, although plans were already underway. Instead, a second edition of the original was printed in 1914, although the changes were not extensive.
Kandinsky paintings are an excellent reflection of what the Der Blaue Reiter Almanach stood for: independence and a break from the past and present via a radical, expressionist and modern route. Although a literal tragedy that a second volume was not published, their ideals and motifs live on in Kandinsky and the artwork of others who associated with the movement. Visit our gallery of Kandinsky paintings to view the work that would alter the course of modern art history.
