by The story of expressionist art, with its bold colors, out-of-the-blue figures and the stirring atmosphere of Germany before the first world war, is usually told through the prism of two groups of artists: Die Brücke (The Bridge), operating from Dresden. and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Erich Heckel; and Der Blaue Reiter (the Blue Rider) in Munich, which was directed by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc. But a new exhibition at London’s Tate Modern focusing on the Blue Rider – the first major UK show on the subject for over 60 years – seeks to expand and complicate that established narrative.
The show’s thesis is hinted at in its title, Expressionists: Kandinsky, Münter and the Blue Rider. Gabriele Münter was a photographer, painter and wealthy partner of Kandinsky who undertook part of her education and artistic development in the United States. Not only does the story of Blue Rider see a woman above Marc at the center of this great artistic enterprise, but it also helps to expand it beyond the borders of Germany and celebrate a truly international experiment.
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“From the beginning the Blue Riders were less of a strict group than a wider community of artists in the church,” explains Tate curator Natalia Sidlina. “They were transnational and linked through various friendships and relationships – intimate, casual and professional – as well as through artistic collaboration, and shared quests and beliefs for spiritual and social renewal. And at the heart of these webs of relationships were Kandinsky and Münter.”
In the salons of Munich – and even more so in Münter’s country house in Bava in Murnau – she and Kandinsky created a space for intellectual exchange where artists, literary critics, composers – Arnold Schoenberg was a friend – and performers could mix with academics , scientists and many others. . In 1911 and 1912 the group staged two exhibitions and published an ambitious experimental almanac that included multidisciplinary art as well as editorial and criticism.
Münter was actually practicing the privilege of traditional male patronage, and into this orbit came misfits and marginalized artists from all over Europe. The relatively liberal and permissive atmosphere in Munich allowed innovative ways of living, exemplified by the androgynous dancer and choreographer Alexander Sakharoff and the relationship between the Russian artist Marianne von Werefkin, who declared: “I am not a man, I am not a woman . am I”, and the painter Alexej Jawlensky. Painters such as Marc, Paul Klee and August Macke were joined by women artists including Elisabeth Epstein and Sonia Delaunay. Around 40% of the paintings in the new show will be by female artists – some of which have never been seen before in the UK – alongside sound, performance and archival material.
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The Blue Rider was effectively deployed in the face of the first world war, but Sidlina says its legacy and example speak with remarkable clarity to many modern artists today: “The challenges and issues they faced feel very familiar: trauma the war, the experience of migrants. , fluid identities, ethnic and gender chauvinisms. Their response was friendship and solidarity of spirit as well as experimentation and radicalism. They sought and received much needed public support at a time when it was needed. It’s an idea and a lesson that continues to resonate.”
Four more images from the exhibition
Marianne von Werefkin – The Dancer, Alexander Sacharoff, 1909
Sacharoff was known for disrupting gender norms through his pioneering free-motion costumes and performances. This portrait challenges the male gaze in that it is a woman portraying a man portraying Salome on stage. It’s a powerfully complete image that gives not only Sacharoff the right to explore his identity, but Werefkin to explore hers as well.
Gabriele Münter – Kandinsky and Erma Bossi at the Table, 1912
Here Münter turns the tables on the male-dominated art world. She places Kandinsky, who could be murdering her fellow artist Bossi, in a traditionally feminine inner space. The projected confident male persona is further undermined by Kandinsky’s childlike Bavarian shorts and Bossi’s authoritative teacher suit.
Elisabeth Epstein – Self Portrait, 1911
Epstein, at some personal cost, left her husband and young son to pursue her life as an artist. She was instrumental in connecting the artistic and creative communities of Paris and Munich, and here she shows herself as a mature and independent woman who unapologetically breaks from social convention and applies her personality to the life choices she has made.
Franz Marc – In the rain, 1912
This hidden portrait of Marc, his partner Maria and – most quietly of all against a dramatic deluge – their dog Rossi shows Marc’s awareness of the avant garde’s dominance of cubism and futurism.
Wassily Kandinsky study for the composition VII, 1913 (main image)
Kandinsky’s work would greatly influence the direction of art in the 20th century with this image becoming extremely important in terms of art theory after the second world war and the rise of abstraction.
Expressionists: Kandinsky, Münter and the Blue Rider at Tate Modern, London, April 25 until 20 October.
