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About this work

Heather Hess, German Expressionist Digital Archive Project, German Expressionism: Works from the Collection. 2011.

In June 1911, Vasily Kandinsky proposed to Franz Marc that the two men jointly produce an almanac that would serve, in Kandinsky's words, as "the document of our modern art." The idea ultimately spawned this single volume, as well as two exhibitions and a loose association of artists. The title Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) arose accidentally over coffee: as Kandinsky would recall in 1930, "We both loved blue, Marc—horses; I—riders. So the name invented itself."

The varied content of Der Blaue Reiter reflects Kandinsky's desire to break down walls between the visual arts and music, theater, folk art, children's art, and ethnography. In addition to essays by Kandinsky, Marc, August Macke, and other German and Russian artists, Der Blaue Reiter included Kandinsky's stage composition Der gelbe Klang (The Yellow Sound) and musical compositions by Arnold Schönberg and Alban Berg. The costly museum and deluxe editions contained two woodcuts, Kandinsky's Bogenschütze (The archer) and Marc's Fabeltier (Fantastic creatures).

PUBLISHING HISTORY

Reinhard Piper was Kandinsky's only choice for publisher, although the relationship between Piper and Der Blaue Reiter's editors was at times volatile. Bernhard Koehler, August Macke's uncle-in-law, assuaged Piper's financial concerns by guaranteeing the production costs. Brisk sales prompted the publication of a second edition of the book in the summer of 1914, but World War I ended work on the digest's next volume.

Franz Marc (German, 1880–1916)

Fantastic Creature (Fabeltier) (plate preceding page 1) from Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider)

Date:
1912
Medium:
Woodcut with tempera additions from an illustrated book with two woodcuts
Dimensions:
composition: 5 3/4 x 8 11/16" (14.6 x 22.1 cm); page: 7 5/16 x 9 13/16" (18.5 x 25 cm)
Paper:
Cream, smooth, wove, Japan mounted to thick textblock (cream, smooth, wove).

Publisher:
R. Piper & Co., Munich
Printer of Plates:
The artist
Printer of Text:
Königlich Bayerische Hofbuchdruckerei von Gebrüder Reichel
Edition:
1260 (including Museum edition of 10 [this ex.]; Deluxe edition of 50; and Regular edition of 1200 [without the two woodcuts]); plus a second edition (1914) of 1100 (without the two woodcuts)
Credit Line:
Acquired through the Helen Acheson Bequest
Reference:
Not in Schardt. Lankheit 826/3.
MoMA Number:
20.1981.2
Themes:
Fantasy, Nature
Techniques:
Woodcut

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