Untitled (Sea Forms)

Rudolf Bauer prints bring the bright circles, bars and floating shapes of a pioneer of abstract art into your home. Bauer showed with the Der Sturm gallery in Berlin beside Kandinsky and Klee, and his "non-objective" paintings became central to the collection Solomon R. Guggenheim built in the 1930s. Our collection of fine art prints includes his abstract compositions, lithographs and an early figurative scene.

About Rudolf Bauer

Alexander Georg Rudolf Bauer was born on 11 February 1889 near Bromberg in the Prussian province of Posen, and grew up in Berlin. His father opposed his wish to be an artist, but Bauer left home to study at the Academy of Fine Arts and supported himself with illustrations and caricatures for magazines and newspapers.

In 1912 he began working in an abstract mode and met Herwarth Walden, founder of the magazine and gallery Der Sturm. Bauer joined its exhibitions from 1915, had his first solo show there in 1917 with 120 "lyrical abstract" works, and taught at the Sturm school. There he met the artist Hilla Rebay, who became his partner and lifelong advocate.

In the late 1920s Rebay introduced Solomon R. Guggenheim to the work of Bauer and Kandinsky. Guggenheim bought many of Bauer's paintings and gave him a stipend that let him open his own small museum in Berlin, Das Geistreich. The Nazis showed his work in the Degenerate Art exhibition and in 1938 held him for months in a Gestapo prison. He emigrated to the United States in 1939, settled in Deal, New Jersey, and after a bitter contract dispute with the Guggenheim foundation stopped painting altogether. He died in Deal in 1953.

Style and Subjects

Bauer called his art non-objective: it does not picture anything in the world but works like music, with shapes and colours arranged in rhythm. Many titles borrow from music, such as Andante, Rondo, Serioso and Symphony.

His early abstract works are soft and lyrical. From around 1930 they became geometric, with crisp circles, rectangles and lines floating on light or dark grounds in clear reds, blues, yellows and blacks.

Famous Works

• Andante V (1916), Yale University Art Gallery. A lyrical early abstraction bought in 1920 by the collector Katherine Dreier.
• Invention (Composition 31) (1933), Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. A geometric work from the years he was supported by Guggenheim.
• Orange Accent. The painting chosen for the invitation to the opening of the Museum of Non-Objective Painting in New York in 1939.
• Symphony. One of his compositions named after a musical form.
• Rondo. Another abstraction with a musical title.
• Paar am Tisch (Couple at a Table) (1907–1910). An early figurative scene from his years as an illustrator in Berlin.

Decorating with Bauer Prints

Bauer's geometric abstractions suit modern and mid-century rooms: a living room with clean-lined furniture, a home office or a minimalist bedroom. Their primary colours pair well with white walls and black or natural wood frames, and two or three together make a strong, rhythmic group.

The softer, lyrical works fit calmer spaces, such as a reading corner or dining room, and work with warm neutrals as well as bold accent colours.

FAQ

What art movement was Rudolf Bauer part of?

Bauer belonged to the circle of the Der Sturm gallery in Berlin and was a leading painter of what he called non-objective art, a form of pure abstraction.

What is Rudolf Bauer's connection to the Guggenheim Museum?

Hilla Rebay showed his work to Solomon R. Guggenheim, who bought many of his paintings in the 1930s. The Museum of Non-Objective Painting, forerunner of the Guggenheim Museum, opened in 1939 with his work on its invitation.

Why did Rudolf Bauer stop painting?

After moving to the United States he agreed to a contract that tied his past and future work to the Guggenheim foundation. Unhappy with it, he stopped painting for the rest of his life.

Where can I see Rudolf Bauer's paintings?

Works are in the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Yale University Art Gallery, which holds Andante V.

What makes Bauer's style recognizable?

Look for circles, bars and rectangles floating in space, clean primary colours, and titles that come from music.

Related Artists

• Wassily Kandinsky: fellow non-objective painter collected by Guggenheim alongside him
• Paul Klee: fellow Der Sturm artist and Sturm school teacher
• Franz Marc: artist of the Der Sturm group