Lot 311 | Der Blaue Reiter

KANDINSKY, WASSILY/MARC, FRANZ
1866 Moscow - 1944 Neuilly-sur-Seine/1880 Munich- 1916 Braquis/Verdun

Title: Der Blaue Reiter.
Subtitle: Almanac.
Date: 1912.
Description: Luxory edition pubished by R. Piper Verlag, Munich. With each a signed and coloured
woodcut by: Wassily Kandinsky, Bogenschütze, 1908/9. Franz Marc, Fabeltier, 1912. Numbered
in the imprint: 29. Buch 29,5 x 22 x 2,5cm. In original slip case.


Literature:
- Friedel, Helmut/Hoberg, Annegret (eds.): Kandinsky - Das druckgrafische Werk, Cologne 2008, cat. rias. no. 70
- Hoberg, Annegret/Jansen, Isabelle: Franz Marc - The Complete Works, ed. III, Sketchbooks and Prints, Munich 2011, cat. rais. no. 24/3
- Röthel, Hans Konrad : Kandinsky - Das druckgraphische Werk, Cologne 1970, cat. rais. no. 79 (Woodcut), p. 450f. (almanac)

The 1912 published almanac "Der Blaue Reiter" is one of the most meaningful manifesto in the art of the 20th century. The editors Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc published works 144 reproductions after works of living artists and old masters, additionally, illustartions ethnogrphic and popular artefact as well as lay painters and children's drawings. 19 text contributions and three music inserts complete the book.

With this it holds "die neueste malerische Bewegung in Frankreich, Deutschland und Russland und zeigt ihre feinen Verbindungsfäden mit der Gotik und den Primitiven, mit Afrika und dem großen Orient, mit der so ausdrucksstarken ursprünglichen Volkskunst und Kinderkunst, besonders mit der modernen musikalischen Bewegung in Europa und den neuen Bu?hnenideen unserer Zeit". (Franz Marc, in 1912 verfasstem Subskriptionsprospekt, cited after:Der Blaue Reiter, Dokumentarische Neuausgabe von Klaus Lankheit, Munic/Zurich 1984, p. 318). Translation: With this it holds the newest painting reveloution in France, Germany and Russia and illustrate their fine references to the gothic and primative with Africa and the great orient with its puncky original folk art and children's art, especially with the modern musical movement in europe and the new sceneic ideas of our times.

Th ebook was published in three editions: 1200 genrally tacked or bound copies for 10 resp. 14 Mark, 50 copies of the luxory edition with each one coloured and signed woodcut by Kandinsky and Marc personally for 50 Mark as well as 10 museum copies with each one coloured and signed woodcut by Kandinsky and Marc personally and each an original work by the artists for 100 Mark.

Kandinskys "Bogenschütze", who rides off on a horse simply is the programmatic image of the almanach. By complexifying the motivic clarification and abstrian from ornamental simplicity Kandinsky approaches the abstract design vocabulary of his paintings for the first time with his woodcut.
Marcs "Fabeltier", to which the artist adds "japanisch", symbolizes the general idea of the programm, combinging the art of different cultures. This way he adaps the techniques of the japanese woodcut in his sheet with simple black contours and the pure colour surface. The significace of this work is refelcted in the creation process: each of the 60 elaborate works are personally printed and each sheet is coloured personally by the artist. Thus, each copy is has a unique character.

Originally, the almanac should be published in an unconstrained sequence. But the growing discrepancy between the artist and the political circumstances hindered the publishment of the planned second edition. Due to the beginning of the war 1914 Kandinsky had to return to Russia. Marc died 1916 in Verdun on the battlefield in France.