Der almanach des blauen reiters als gesamtkunstwerk: eine interdisziplinäre untersuchung

Perhaps more than any other, the Modernist period (c. 1890-1939) is defined by its culture. This book analyses arguably the most valuable surviving primary source of the period, the Blue Rider almanac (Der Blaue Reiter, 1912), whilst investigating the fundamental nature of the relationship between the Arts with particular reference to the Modernist period. The almanac is conceptualised as a 'total work of art', and established as the twentieth century's most significant attempt at both theorising and exemplifying the concept of a Gesamtkunstwerk. The insight gained necessitates not just a reappraisal of the Blue Rider movement, but the entire Modernist period. Edited by Franz Marc and Wassily Kandinsky, the almanac includes essays on art and music, numerous illustrations of diverse artworks, three scores, a poem, a prose extract, an essay by Kandinsky on his theory of so-called stage composition and one such work, The Yellow Sound (Der gelbe Klang). Despite the abundance of secondary literature on the Blue Rider, the almanac has never before been considered in its entirety. Indeed, much of its contents has been passed over completely. This publication re-evaluates the almanac as a collective, international and quintessentially interdisciplinary undertaking. Chapter I examines the major ideas underpinning the almanac, such as the perception of art as a spiritual phenomenon and the belief that the question of form was secondary. An extensive central chapter is divided into sections on Art, Music, Literature and Stage, and includes individual analyses of the contributions to the almanac, whilst drawing out links between them and relating them to the framework of ideas. The final chapter assesses the almanac as a Gesamtkunstwerk in the light of such factors as its contents, structure and layout, the emphasis on the participation of artists as authors, and the use of language within the publication