The Archer (Bogenschütze) (plate facing colophon page) from Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider)

The Archer (Bogenschütze) (plate facing colophon page) from Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) by Vasily Kandinsky is a pivotal early abstract work that marked the artist’s transition toward non-objective painting. This piece is classified as a woodcut, a medium the artist frequently explored to develop his expressive style. The print was featured within the highly influential illustrated book, Der Blaue Reiter Almanac, which Kandinsky co-edited with Franz Marc and published in Munich in 1912. Although the Almanac was published in 1912, the original print was executed several years prior, between 1908 and 1909, showcasing the foundational nature of these prints within Kandinsky's emerging formal vocabulary.

The technique employed here, the woodcut, lends itself to the stark contrasts and bold linear energy that define this period of modern art. The image depicts a figure, dynamically rendered with aggressive black lines against a white ground. This figure, likely the archer referenced in the title, is abstracted and fragmented, reducing the subject matter to essential expressive gestures rather than detailed representation. Such expressive fragmentation and simplified forms are key characteristics of Kandinsky's early engagement with abstraction and his commitment to conveying spiritual content through purely visual means. The dynamic structure and limited palette anticipate the radical innovations that would define the artist’s later paintings.

The inclusion of The Archer in the Der Blaue Reiter Almanac helped solidify Kandinsky’s role as a primary advocate for abstraction, connecting German Expressionist ideas with broader international experiments. The almanac itself sought to establish connections across disparate art forms, from folk art to children’s drawings, all unified by an internal, spiritual necessity. While the artistic movement was based in Germany, Kandinsky, an exiled Russian, maintained strong ties with contemporary French culture, influencing the global reception of these prints. This specific impression is housed in the Museum of Modern Art collection, where it stands as a critical document of the early 20th century shift toward non-representational art and the influential history of the illustrated book genre of 1912.