NKU was a small group of early 20th century artists of whom Vassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) was one of them.
The group was very much a reaction or counter attack on the strictures of German art academies, which at the time were greatly influenced by Jugendstil (German flavour of Art Nouveau). To begin with the group was somewhat influenced by the fauves, Picasso, Rouault and Vlaminck.
Neue Künstlervereinigung eventually gave birth to the ‘Blaue Reiter’ literally meaning the ‘Blue rider.’ Find more about Blaue Reiter and German expressionism in this article.
