: The "Blue Rider"
In Munich, Murnau and in the region around Kochel, aside from the artists` community "Brücke", the second important art movement of Expressionism developed. When Wassily Kandinsky and Gabriele Münter, together with Alexej Jawlensky and Marianne Werefkin came to Murnau in the summer of 1908, a new style of painting was created. No longer was painted true to nature as was the style up to this time, but the new way realized the subjective impression and completely left the former "impressionistic" style of painting behind.
Influenced by Murnau and its landscape and the folk-art behind-glass painting, the artists developed a style reduced to basic shapes, flat and refraining from anything irrelevant. Using unmixed, contrasting colours, intensity and a heightened figurative expression were created.
Since 1909, the exhibition forum for the new, expressive art was the "Neue Künstlervereinigung München" ( New Artists` Community Munich) which counted, among others, Paul Klee, August Macke and Franz Marc to its members. In December of 1911 Kandinsky, Münter, Marc and Kubin left the community, and, under the name of "Der Blaue Reiter" ("The Blue Rider"), staged their own exhibition in the gallery "Thannhauser". In 1911/12, the almanac "The Blue Rider" was founded which became one of the most important programmatic publications for 20th century art. A great number of artists contributed with text and pictures representing the various fields of the Fine Arts, folk-art, music and theatre. A section of the Schloßmuseum is dedicated entirely to the "Blue Rider". Furthermore, the Tourist Office Murnau offers an interesting package: "Walking on the trails of the "Blue Rider".
