The Blaue Rieter Art Movement
Der
Blaue Rieter
Cover of der Blaue Reiter Almanach (1911)
By
Wassily Kandinsky
The term Der Blaue Rieter is widely believed to derive
from the symbolic canvas created by Kandinsky in 1903. His artwork cover (Der Blaue
Rieter Almanach) was created mostly to represent the art movements aesthetic as
well as ideals. The artwork consists of very clear and outstanding features;
these features include mainly the semi-abstract “Blue Rider” figure representing
access to mobility. The flat but bold woodcut format shows the focus on the
primitivism element, the colour blue used on the art work symbolises spirituality
and black outlines are used to give shape to the abstract shapes and objects (m.theartstory.org.2018).
The Blaue Rieter was an art movement that was built on the
expressionism fundamentals that said Expressionism was an avant-garde movement
(breaking new ground) that was initially developed in Germany at the beginning
of the early 20th century as an opposing reaction act against Impressionism
and academic art and its terminology coined by a Czech Historian Antonin Matejcek
and influenced by artists such as Cezanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh and the Fauvism
movement (Thomson, 2018: no.p). Expressionist painters aimed at presenting the
world from a subjective perspective and depict their inner emotional feelings and
experience that objects and events arouse in them. Der Blaue Rieter also known
as (The Blue Riders), this movement was formed by a group of artists who came
together in Munich, Germany to promote art. The art movement lasted from 1911
to 1914. This group of artist associated in Der Blaue Rieter were strong believers
that art should be about individual expression and emotion (Motta, C. 2018:
no.p).
Die Brucke and Der Blaue being two of the pioneering
movements of German expressionism, unlike Die Brucke aiming at creating
distorted figurative and recognizable images style. Die Blaue sought to
confront inner spiritual value of art. Some of the major key players in Der Blaue
Reiter included, Gabriele Munter, Alexerj von Jawlenskey and Pau Klee, August Macke,
Marianne von Werefkin with Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc being the theoretical
centres of the group (m.theartstory.org.2018).
Der Blaue
Rieter Style Characteristics
- Introduction to exaggeration, fantasy and distorted shapes and objects
- Artist always aimed to depict not objective reality but rather the subjective emotions and responses that shapes, objects and events would arouse within a person.
- Abstraction art
- Interested in European art and primitivism
- They believed in the promotion of modern art
- Use of vivid colours
- Use of highly subjective, personal, self-expressionism
(Britannica. 2018:no.p)
Contrast
between old and new Der Blaue Rieter style movement art
Farewell
(1914)
By August
Macke
The farewell artwork was painted after the outbreak of
world war one and thus this artwork represents the artist feelings of how life
was during the violent and fearful war. The artists tried as much as he could
to depict a sad and depressing scenario for one, it was filled with figurines and
in a busy environment but still giving of the idea of isolation amongst the
people in that town or street setting. By doing this the artist managed to represent the dark mood that set place and
overtook many European modern artists. August Macke’s painting features
simplified faceless figures to represent the gone feelings of happiness and
spiritual redemption. The scene is set on a busy street like the Ludwig Kirchners’s
expressionist Street scenes or to the Munch’s the Scream Artwork. The artist
mixed dark colours with bright colours to create contrast as well as a dark
mood environment to the scene. Unfortunately the painting Farewell was the last
artwork that August Macke completed before his death at the front in September 1914
(m.theartstory.org.2018).
Der Neue Blaue Reiter 2010
By Wilbur M. Reeling
The Der Neue Blaue Rieter artwork was created by artist and
painter Wilbur M. Reeling and the inspiration of this artwork is based on Wassily
Kandisky’s 1903 artwork panting called
the Blue Rider. The artist used pigmented ink, watercolour and brushes on canvas
material that is 38x59 inches. The artist created thousands of different
coloured small brush strokes interwoven into one another connecting to shapes and
objects almost floral like and organic shaped to create this wonderful painting.
White space was also used in that it was purposely left in order to give off
contrast to the painting as a whole. The artist used light-coloured watercolours
such as red, green, blue, purple, and brown with the last colour being the most
significant which was the colour blue because it serves as a reminder of the original
Blue Rider artwork and thus chances are it probably resembles the same element:
spirituality (wilburmreeling.com. 2018).
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