Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) was a group of artists founded in Munich in 1911 by Wassily Kandinsky after his painting Last Judgement was rejected for exhibition. History records that the name of the movement derived from the painting The Blue Rider produced by Kandinsky in 1903. It has also claimed that the name could have derived from Franz Marc’s enthusiasm for horses and Kandinsky’s love of the colour blue. For Kandinsky, blue was the colour of spirituality: the darker the blue, the more it awoke human desire for the eternal. The movement’s founding members were Franz Marc, Alexej von Jawlensky, Marianne von Werefkin, Gabriele Münter, Adolf Erbslöh and Alexander Kanoldt. Within the group, artistic approaches and aims varied from artist to artist; however, the artists shared a common desire to express spiritual truths through their art. They believed in the promotion of modern art; the connection between visual art and music; the spiritual and symbolic associations of colour; and a spontaneous, intuitive approach to painting. Der Blaue Reiter lacked a central artistic manifesto, but was centred around Kandinsky and Marc. Paul Klee was also involved. Der Blaue Reiter organised exhibitions in 1911 and 1912 that toured Germany. They also published an almanac featuring contemporary, primitive and folk art, along with children’s paintings. In 1913 the group exhibited in the first German Herbstsalon. The outbreak of the Great War in the summer of 1914 effectively terminated the group’s existence.