The Green Domino

Albert Bloch is an artist of international and local importance. Associated with the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) while living in Munich, he later served as the head of the Department of Painting and Drawing at the University of Kansas. The Green Domino, painted in Munich, reveals Bloch's passion for the expressive powers of simplified forms and intense color. The curious figures who occupy this brightly colored, prismatically fractured space are based on characters from 16th- and 17th-century Italian improvisational comedic theatre. The vivid central figure, after which the painting is titled, also had contemporary connections. It pays tribute to a renowned singer who performed at a popular cabaret, and may also honor a Russian dancer who, like Bloch, was a member of the Blue Rider circle.