Phalanx
After leaving the studio of Franz Stuck, Kandinsky was looking for a group of progressive artists, with whom he could implement a new, "non-academic" exhibition policy. At that time, he met with the participants of the literary and artistic cabaret "Die Elf Scharfrichter" (The Eleven Executioners), communication with whom gave him new impulses for creativity. Kandinsky began writing art criticism, which was published in Russian magazines. But the cultural life of Munich seemed to him too conservative, limited, and narrow-minded.
In an attempt to influence the prevailing situation of academism, as well as to gather creative-minded people together, in May 1901, Kandinsky, together with Rolf Nitzky, Waldemar Hecker, and Wilhelm Hüsgen created the artistic association "Phalanx", becoming its President. In the art school opened at that time, the members of the association taught. At the first exhibition of the "Phalanx" the audience was shown works by Kandinsky, his friends from the artistic cabaret, as well as Alexander Salzmann, whom Kandinsky had met in the studio of Franz Stuck.
In the following exhibitions of "Phalanx" Kandinsky tried to collect the work, which represented other art movements that he felt were not sufficiently appreciated: Impressionism, Symbolism and Jugendstil. It was Jugendstil that interested the artist at that moment. He felt how attractive the new possibilities of generalized forms were. One of the paintings from this period of searching is "The Old town", as well as, later familiar "The Blue rider".
To the disappointment of Kandinsky, over three years of the association's intensive exhibition activity, Kandinsky was unable to arouse sufficient public interest in what he was doing. A total of twelve exhibitions were held, in which works by both well-known and unknown artists were demonstrated, representing Jugendstil, Symbolism, late Impressionism. For instance, at the seventh exhibition (1903), works by Claude Monet were presented, at the tenth (1904) - Toulouse-Lautrec, F. Vallotton, P.Signac, T. van Rysselberghe. But the Munich public met the exhibitions at best, with silence; at worst, with grumbling and swearing. Frustrated by his inability to win over their hearts and minds, Kandinsky, as President, made the decision to close the association in 1904.
He devoted himself entirely to wood engraving. This expressive technique gave him the opportunity to convey his creative ideas, closely associated with jugendstil and symbolism - the currents, that at that time possessed the artist's soul and offered him the greatest freedom in choosing artistic means.
The "Phalanx" period brought Kandinsky acquaintance and creative communication with such artists as Alfred Kubin, a creator of symbolic and surrealistic graphic works, as well as the Symbolist poets Stefan George and Karl Wolfskehl. They were close to Kandinsky in his quest to look for new ways in art. Thanks to "Phalanx" Kandinsky continued to search for a new style, discovered new expressive means for himself and mastered a new technique - wood engraving. And "The Blue Rider" later became the symbol of another important phase in the life and work of Wassily Kandinsky.
