One hundred years ago, a small Bavarian town of Murnau was one of the centers of world art - are created such artists as Vasily Vasilyevich Kandinsky , Gabriele Myunter (Gabriele Muenter), Alexei Yavlensky and Marianne Verevkin . If not, the «fantastic four», art history, no doubt, would have been very different. It is landscapes, wrote Kandinsky in Murnau, with their colorful pile of forms and colors, were the bridge that brought the artist of expressionism to abstract art.

Those years, Vasily Kandinsky held in Murnau, considered to be the most fruitful period of his creativity. In 1895 at the age of 28 years, he decided to leave the jurisprudence of class and moved to Munich, where he became a study of painting in the school Aschbe Anton (Anton Ažbe). There he became acquainted with a young painter Alexei Yavlenskim and his life companion Marianne Verevkin. Salon Verevkin in Atelierwohnung Gizelshtrasse was at the center of bohemian and artistic life of Munich. There were debates about literature, philosophy and art, which was attended by many famous artists and art historians. It is thanks to the support Verevkin Kandinsky left their painstaking search for creative and eventually came to clean abstraction.

In 1901 Kandinsky became director of the school-based arts association Phalanx. There he met with Gabriele Myunter, which soon became his lover. Two pairs of artists lived and worked in close collaboration. In 1908, Kandinsky, Myunter, Verevkin and Yavlensky arrived in Murnau «on sketches» and were so fascinated by this Bavarian town that decided one day to live there. In 1909 Myunter bought a house in Murnau, where they lived with Kandinsky five years. This is where the artists were discussing the establishment of the New Munich art society, art that challenged the then dominant in the art scene realism Franz von Lenbaha (Franz von Lenbach). In 1911 Kandinsky and Myunter together with the future well-known artists Franz Marc (Franz Marc), August Macke (August Macke), Lionel Fayningerom (Lyonel Feininger), and the composer Arnold Schoenberg (Arnold Schoenberg), and other artists to create the first issue of the journal «Blue Rider» ( "Der Blaue Reuter"), which is the most important manifesto of German expressionism. During this period, the program was created text Kandinsky «On the spiritual in art». And in 1914, the work of artists «magnificent quartet» were exhibited in Berlin at the famous gallery Der Sturm.

In short, they would live and work together for many years, but the war destroyed everything. August 3, 1914 Kandinsky, as a Russian subject, committed during the day to leave Germany. This was the beginning of the end of his relationship with Gabriela Myunter. The artist soon found her new love - Nina Andreyevsky and married her. On his German girlfriend, he no longer remembered. After breaking with Kandinsky Myunter fell into severe depression, she began a creative crisis.

After the war, the four artists spread around the world. Kandinsky first lived in Russia, where he was responsible for administrative and teaching, then, along with Nina moved to Germany - to teach at the famous Institute of Bauhaus. In the 1930's and Russian artists began to harass the Nazis: they even sent a petition to the Director of Bauhaus to dismiss the teacher-neariytsa. Kandinsky moved to France, where he lived for 11 years, doing painting and talking with other artists - Yavlenskim, Marc Chagall , Robert, and Sonia Delaunay (Robert & Sonia Delaunay), Hoan Miro (Joan Miró), etc.

Myunter lived in Sweden, Denmark and Germany. Since coming to power of Hitler's paintings, as well as paintings of Kandinsky, were declared «degenerative art». But after the war, her creativity has been rehabilitated. Now the house, where in early 1910-ies were Myunter and Kandinsky, a museum, which is called «Russian House».

Yavlensky Verevkin and separated in 1920. The artist moved to Switzerland, where settled in the town of Ascona. By the end of life, she wrote mystical paintings, in which individuals are left alone with a silent nature. Her former life Alex Yavlensky too carried away mysticism, namely, the eastern philosophy. The artist lived in Germany, where in 1924, created along with Kandinsky, Fayningerom and Paul Klee (Paul Klee) Association «Blue Quartet».

now in the Palace Museum Murnau an exhibition devoted to the first centennial anniversary of the arrival of artists in this picturesque Bavarian town. The exhibition «One hundred years ago: Kandinsky, Myunter, Yavlensky, Verevkin» You can see paintings, drawings and photographs by artists from the museum collection, as well as from other museums and private collections. Artworks provided museums of Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Finland and Sweden. Tretyakov Gallery, too, sent a single work - colorful canvas of Vasily Kandinsky, which shows the castle Murnau. The exhibition had a wide public resonance. At its opening was attended by German President Horst Koehler (Horst Koehler).

The exhibition will run until November 9.

Material prepared Yulia Maksimova

Sources: svobodanews.ru , kommersant.ru , artinvestment. ru