M. K. ČIURLIONIS, V. KANDINSKIS IR M. VERIOVKINA S. MAKOVSKIO SALONE SANKT PETERBURGE 1909 m.

One of the most interesting questions regarding Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis and his links with his contemporaries in the West is his invitation to the Neue Kunstlervereinigung Munchen exhibition in 1910 (which he could not participate in due to illness). This association of German Expressionists (which led to the development of the famous Der Blaue Reiter group) was comprised of different nationalities, including Germans and Austrians, with its founders being Russian artists residing in Munich – Wassily Kandinsky, Alexej von Jawlensky and Marianne von Werefkin. It was precisely they who learned of Čiurlionis and his work from the Russian art world, and invited him to their exhibition in Germany. However where, when and how they become acquainted with his work has never been explained in art history. The article discusses biographical connections between Čiurlionis and two members of Neue Kunstlervereinigung Munchen –Wassily Kandinsky and Marianne von Werefkin. This research is devoted to what could be labelled their first “meeting”, which took place in 1909 at an exhibition held in St. Petersburg, the participants of which included Kandinsky, Jawlensky, Werefkin and Čiurlionis. The paper discusses the figure of Sergey Makovsky, the organisor of the exhibition, his salon, its participants and their work. Special consideration is focused on the negative reaction of critics to the works of Kandinsky, Jawlensky, Werefkin, as well as to the works of Čiurlionis. These negative reviews must have payed the attention of Munich artists to Lithuanian Čiurlionis and thus he became acknowledged in the circle of Neue Kunstlervereinigung Munchen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]