Colours of Rebellion: Munich and the Birth of the Blue Rider

The Lenbachhaus in Munich is renowned as home to the world’s largest collection of Blue Rider art. The gallery’s latest exhibition, The Blue Rider: A New Language, offers a fresh take on the movement that began in the Bavarian capital and captivated the art world.

In the early 20th century, Munich was a hotbed of artistic innovation. Amid shifting social landscapes, a new school emerged from an intense exchange of ideas that would shape the trajectory of modern art: Der Blaue Reiter, or The Blue Rider. This avant-garde collective left an indelible mark on modern art with their radical departure from tradition and bold exploration of colour and spirituality.

The Blue Rider was born from tensions within the Expressionist group, the New Artists' Association of Munich. Disagreements over abstraction led Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Gabriele Münter, and Alexei Jawlensky to break away in 1911. Their first exhibition at Heinrich Thannhauser's Moderne Galerie marked the debut of a new artistic philosophy. The name "Der Blaue Reiter" remains enigmatic—drawn from recurring motifs in Kandinsky and Marc’s work and their shar

Though it was to be short-lived – the movement halted in 1914 with the outbreak of WWI, and indeed, Marc was killed in action at the Battle of Verdun in 1916 – the group had opened a space for experimentation and subverting norms. Its artists – a broad-church community – naturally transitioned to the New Objectivity movement. Other significant figures included August Macke, with his joyful depictions of the everyday, and Paul Klee, whose deeply personal symbolism found resonance with the Blue Rider aspirations.

Despite their distinct styles, the group was united by a shared desire to express inner truths. They rejected mere imitation, embracing abstraction, vibrant colour, and inspiration from folk traditions and non-Western art. In doing so, they helped infuse modern art with spiritual depth and cross-cultural resonance.

The creative exchange of the Blue Rider members continues to be felt throughout Munich. The bohemian Schwabing and Maxvorstadt districts retain an artistic and intellectual energy, particularly at the Academy of Fine Arts, where Kandinsky and Klee studied. The Schelling-Salon, where Kandinsky would enjoy a beer with friends, remains open today, still in its original Viennese style. Outside the city, the Münter-Haus in Murnau where Kandinsky and Gabriele Münter would host artistic retreats – and where the Blue Rider Almanac was penned – welcomes visitors to walk through rooms that offer an uncanny sense of how the artists lived.

Münter’s generosity in donating a vast and invaluable collection of Blue Rider works to the Lenbachhaus after Kandinsky’s death further established Munich as one of Europe’s most important art centres. Its newest exhibition invites contemporary viewers to rediscover the radical vision born here more than a century ago. With a curated library, a screening area showing films made as the group was finding its identity, and some 240 works, including Kandinsky’s rare dynamic abstractions from 1914, the exhibition offers a compelling insight into the heart of the movement.

Discover The Blue Rider: A New Language at Lenbachhaus during your stay at The Charles Hotel.