Ornamental Composition XIII

Wilhelm Morgner was 21 and living in Soest, a small town in Westphalia, when he painted this canvas in 1912 and marked it with his monogram and the date, WM 12. It is a large picture, more than a metre wide. That year he had seen paintings by Kandinsky, Marc and Jawlensky, and he was trying to give direct expression to what he called life, or spirit. The result was a run of bright, almost abstract compositions like this one. The Lenbachhaus friends' association bought it in 2024, together with a second Ornamental Composition, and the museum showed it for the first time in March 2026, in its new presentation of the Blue Rider.