Der Blaue Reiter
Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at 08:55AM Penguin books announced the name of its newest publishing imprint today, Blue Rider Press. The imprint's publisher, David Rosenthal, explained the significance of the name: “The Blue Rider name historically represents individuality and quality in the arts. And that same intent will be reflected in the eclectic fiction and nonfiction books Blue Rider Press will publish.” Of course, the real story is much more interesting than that.
Der Blaue Reiter was an art movement founded in Germany in 1911, surrounding a group of artists including Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc. As the Wikipedia article on the group describes them:
They believed in the promotion of modern art; the connection between visual art and music; the spiritual and symbolic associations of colour; and a spontaneous, intuitive approach to painting.
Though the movement lasted only until the outbreak of the war in 1914, it left a lasting impression, due in no small part to its 1912 publication of The Blue Rider Almanac. The Almanac was republished in English a few years ago by MFA Publications and worth a read.
Publisher's description: "Originally published in Munich in 1912 and edited by Kandinsky and Marc, The Blaue Reiter Almanac presented the movement’s synthesis of international culture to the European avant-garde at large. In both the selection of essays and its innovative interplay of word and image, The Blaue Reiter Almanac remains one of our most critically important works of literature on the art theory and culture of the 20th century. This edition, long unavailable in English and indispensable to any student of modernism, simulates the original German format, and includes documents, and musical notations, as well as seminal essays by Kandinsky, Schoenberg, Marc, and others. Nearly 150 illustrations, from ancient and contemporary sources, capture the wide-ranging interests and passions that inspired Kandinsky's and Marc's programmatic attempt to make modernism accessible across national and chronological boundaries. Also included is Klaus Lankheit's extensive critical introduction, which places the Blaue Reiter in context for contemporary readers."
