In summer 1908 the two Munich-resident couples Gabriele Münter / Wassily Kandinsky and Marianne von Werefkin / Alexej von Jawlensky spend several productive weeks in Murnau am Staffelsee, 70 kilometres south of Munich. This ‘painting summer’ sees the first impulse towards an unmistakeable contribution to expressionism, which is occurs under the name Der Blaue Reiter.
Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) is the title of a book edited by Franz Marc and Wassily Kandinsky, published by Munich’s Piper Verlag in 1912. With its pioneering combination of texts and images, it reflects the current state of artistic discussion. August Macke is also decisively involved in its compilation along with Gabriele Münter and Maria Marc. Many artists associated with the Blue Rider had previously been organised in the Neue Künstlervereinigung München (Munich Association of New Artists). Their work is first shown in the Wupper Valley in 1910 by the painter Adolf Erbslöh, from Barmen.
