Expressionists, Kandinsky, Münter and the Blue Rider, Tate Modern
- jackieholmsartist
- Sep 12, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Jan 16
Expressionists, Kandinsky, Münter and the Blue Rider at Tate Modern offers a comprehensive exploration of one of the most dynamic and influential movements of early 20th-century art—Expressionism, particularly through the works of Kandinsky, Münter, and their Blue Rider contemporaries. I found the exhibition to be an extraordinary dive into the lives of artists determined to transform modern art, searching for spiritual and creative renewal in the wake of modernity.
With over 100 paintings and 30 photographs, the exhibition covers a broad spectrum of works, with an impressive representation from women artists. Almost half of the paintings on display are by women, highlighting their often overlooked but crucial contribution. Münter’s bold, figurative works and extensive display of photographs stand out for their exploration of identity, while Werefkin’s dramatic paintings radiate emotional intensity, gender ambiguity and spiritual depth.
The exhibition focuses on the Group’s vision of creating an art that transcends national borders and artistic conventions. Central figures like Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc are, of course, heavily featured. Kandinsky’s vibrant abstract works, informed by his theories on spirituality and colour, are a standout, while Marc’s animistic paintings, alive with spiritual symbolism, offer a reminder of the his deep engagement with the natural world.
What struck me most about the exhibition was its reminder of how this circle of friends and collaborators came together not only to revolutionise art but also to respond to the socio-political turbulence of their time. The shadow of impending war loomes large over the exhibition and it is clear that the Group were struggling with the realities of Empire and desire for a higher spirituality in life and art. Yet, there is a sense of hope and transformation—particularly in their exploration of spirituality and colour theory. Rooms dedicated to Kandinsky’s synesthetic experiments and Marc’s prism studies highlight their shared belief in the transformative power of art, crossing boundaries of medium, science, and spirituality.
I was particularly keen to see the Kandinsky’s and was not dissapointed with 26 of his works in the exhibition from between 1903 and 1914 from the figurative to abstraction. I was also intriged to learn of Kandinsky’s relationship with Rudolf Steiner, a leading figure in the Theosophical movement, whom Kandinsky met in 1908, after Steiner had visited with Hilma af Kint. Steiner likely came to the attention of the Munich artists through his editing of Goethe’s scientific writings, and later prominence in the increasingly popular Theosophical Society. The Theosophists mixed European occult traditions with appropriated elements of Hinduism and Buddhism, ancient Greek philosophy and modern science, and also established a system of education with a number of schools worldwide. As an ex-Rudolf Steiner School pupil myself, I was intrigued by the widespread cultural interest in Theosophy at that time and how this “spiritual science” impacted the art of the Blue Rider. The question of where do art and spirituality sit in a rapidly modernising world of reason is surely one that was discussed around that dining table in Murnau.
Much of the exhibition was taken up by Kandinsky’s impactful abstracts which began to appear shortly before 1911, just before the first Blue Rider exhibition. These colourful, vibrant works did not disappoint and it was a thrill to be able to get up close with them. What struck me most, after the vibrancy and immediacy of the raw colour palette, was the intricacy and delicacy of application. I had thought that perhaps these were painted in a kind of unconcious frenzied response to Schoneberg’s music or as a result of Kandinsky’s synesthesia however, although the energy of colour, light and symbolism is prominent they also appeared to have come from the considered brush of a very ordered and rational man, and I now learn that he would produce preliminary sketches and preparatory drawings for these larger works. This seems at odds to me in how we tend to perceive abstract works of art today. The power and passion motivating the paintings, however, is palpable, not least through the raw power of colour, line and abstract form, and has led the way to many modern artists not least the action painters of the American Abstract Expressionists.
However, the exhibition also brings forward the tension between their radical artistic ambitions and their somewhat nostalgic view of the world. While their ideas were revolutionary, their fascination with pre-modern folk art and religious symbolism, combined with their experiments in reverse glass painting, suggests a desire to recapture something seen as pure and timeless in a rapidly modernising world. It’s a paradox that echoes throughout the exhibition—a search for new forms of expression, but one that is deeply rooted in past traditions, perhaps even an attempt to reconcile with modernity rather than fully embrace it, or a vain reaching for past Imperial order in the face of loss of Empire.
The gallery also touches on the influence of non-Western art and crafts, drawing attention to the ways in which these were sometimes decontextualised and appropriated by European artists. This adds an important layer to the exhibition, forcing us to reckon with the complexities of cultural exchange and imperialist undertones in their artistic practices.
Indeed, pre-WW1 mysogony and Imperialism are constant companions throughout the exhibition. From Münter’s reintroduction as a prominent figure of the Group, the focus on gender politics, Münter’s extensive photographs from her trip to America and her and Kandinsky’s travels through the German and Russian Empires and the small representation of ethnic art and devotional objects. It is also important to note that, although the Blue Rider Almanac and Exhibitions included folk art works these were not attributed to the maker, or context.
The exhibition companion book is jam packed with informative in-depth investigations of some of the major themes that the exhibition focuses on and a wide variety of spotlight essays covering the Group’s travels, techniques, interests, sources of inspiration, and the relationships that bound them together, and I would highly recommend it as a great read and source of inspiration from this broad spectrum of artists.
It has to be said that this Exhibition is not what you might call a straighforward retrospective It bravely takes a fresh look at the Group and reinstates Münter at the centre, as part of the power couple around which the Group radiated from their shared home, Münter’s house in Murnau. It would have been impossible to reexamine the Blue Reider without noticing that, had it not been for the neglected women of the Group, it would not have existed in its final form. It was Münter and Maria Franck-Marc that edited and collated the works for the Blue Rider Almanac and exhibition, Elizabeth Mack’s uncle funded the publication of the Almanac and let’s not forgret Werefkin’s Brotherhood of St. Luke and pink salon which birthed the NKVM from which the Blue Rider was born. Yet they were given no credit at the time, perhaps in-line with cultural expectations. It is hard now to know exactly what the women of the Group felt about this snub, however given Werefkin’s abandonment of her own, highly acomblished, career as an artist to promote that of her lover, Jawlenski, perhaps this was expected and accepted.
It is a fine line that the exhibition treds, on the one hand they wish to cast a fresh light on the women of the Group and gender and racial politics of the time that played such an important part in their lives. On the other, there is always a tendency to view issues such as these through a modern lens. To this end it is fair to say that the exhibition is as much an investigation into the world view and cultural climate of the time. However, there are great difficulties in taking a contemporary lens to historical events, and we will never truley know their views from a 21st century context.
Expressionists, Kandinsky, Münter and the Blue Rider is a landmark exhibition that should not be missed. It captures not only the artistic brilliance of the Blue Rider collective but also their shared, utopian, vision of art as a spiritual and transformative force in society. The group’s time was cut short by the Great War, their vision again shattered by the Nazi regime as war was waged on their artistic idiology. A warning from history we should perhaps heed in these turbulent post-truth times. Despite this, their legacy continues to resonate, leaving a lasting imprint on the course of modern art and one that eternally inspires.
Expressionists, Kandinsky, Münter and the Blue Rider exhibition runs at Tate Modern, London from 25th April to 20th October 2024. (https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/expressionists)
Companion book, published by Tate Modern (https://shop.tate.org.uk/expressionists-exhibition-book-paperback/29024.html)
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