Marianne von Werefkin (Brigitte Salmen)

Salmen explores Werefkins early works from Russia and follows her as she returned to her own art after a long break, during which she sought to further the work of her companion, Alexej Jawlensky. In 1906 after a decade away from her art, Werefkin began painting once more, creating fascinating works in a new, expressive style--the results of her sojourns in the region around the picturesque town of Murnau, Germany, where she often visited with Jawlensky, M nter, and Kandinsky. With these artists, she was an important forerunner and co-founder of the Munich New Artists Association, and Salmen traces Werefkins powerful influence on the development of the Blauer Reiter, or Blue Rider. Finally, Salmen examines Werefkins lesser-known later works, which she created in Ascona, Switzerland, where she lived in exile until she died in 1938.

An important look at the full life of this undervalued artist, Marianne von Werefkin is an essential book about a woman whose career staked out new ground for female painters.