Gabriele munter biography of williams

23 June to 11 September 2005

Gabriele Münter (1877-1962) played a vital role in the development of German Expressionism in the early years of the 20 century. She was at the forefront of a group of highly influential avant-garde artists, including her lover Wassily Kandinsky, who redirected the course of German modernism and shaped Expressionist aesthetics. Münter was a founder member both of the progressive, Neue Künstlervereinigung München, (Munich New Artists’ Association) and the celebrated avant-garde group, Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider).

This exhibition charted Münter’s extraordinary artistic development from her early Impressionist-inspired paintings of Sèvres on the outskirts of Paris, to the bold and brightly coloured innovative Expressionist works she produced in the small town of Murnau, deep in the Bavarian Alps. It was here, accompanied by Kandinsky and fellow painters Alexei Jawlensky and Marianne von Werefkin, that the foundations of the Blaue Reiter movement were laid. The paintings in the exhibition showed how Münter thoroughly revitalised the genres of portraiture, landscape and still life, achieving a distinct voice within both her immediate circle and the wider European avant-garde.

The exhibition included work from the First World War period when the Blaue Reiter was forced to disband and Münter, now separated from Kandinsky, produced a series of haunting and melancholic portraits of women in interiors, the most important examples of which were on display.

The range and diversity of the paintings shown in this exhibition demonstrated that Münter’s work never solidified into a stylistic formula but was always searching. As she put it,

Gabriele Münter: The Search For Expression 1906-1917 was accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, with essays by Dr Shulamith Behr from The Courtauld Institute of Art and Dr Annegret Hoberg from the Lenbachhaus.

After leaving a brilliant career and a wife in Russia, Wassily Kandinsky moves to Berlin and it is here that he meets the young Gabriele, who is an aspiring painter born in a middle-class family in Berlin who, despite the times, never stops to encourage Gabriele's artistic career.

Their meeting and their tormented love

The love between the two is born between sketches, brushes, canvases and reprimands, as well as between two different styles that intertwine. But despite the love that unites them, Kandinsky cannot completely leave behind his past and life in Russia, especially he cannot put aside the guilt about his wife, left behind. In addition, the relationship with Gabriele is troubled, confusing and those 11 years of age difference certainly do not encourage it, indeed, they often manifest themselves by creating imbalances in the couple.

Rebellious, strong and at the same time fragile, Gabriele is a young woman considered by Kandinsky, not "tameable" even on an artistic level. In fact, he thinks he can't teach her anything, but he tries to protect her and make sure that the woman keeps her talent as it is, unique. The contrasts between the two often occur, but despite the many differences, the relationship between Wassily and Gabriele lasts for 12 years. He is always annoyed by her humour, while she suffers because she feels like the shadow of the painter, especially on an artistic level. In fact, for everyone she is the lady who accompanies the painter and the fact that she also paints is considered as a secondary thing, an attitude that annoys her very much.

The separation between the two lovers

Despite the ups and downs, their relationship goes on for 12 years, the two do not marry, she doesn't care if the union is recognized legally or by others, even when in 1911 Wassily Kandinsky obtains the separation from his wife. In fact, the fact that the man is married is never a problem for Ga

A couple of blogs ago I looked at the life of Frida Kahlo and, in the course of following her life story, talked about her husband the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera.  Although Frida was an artist in her own right, I wonder if she suffered from the description:  “Frida, wife of the great Diego Rivera”.  How often was she looked upon as just that – merely the wife of the great Rivera?   There have been many romantic attachments between artists and between literary figures in the past, and they are mostly described in a manner where the men are looked upon as the celebrated ones in the partnership.  The male in the relationship is viewed as the great initiator or the knowledgeable inventor of this and that, while the female of the relationship is denigrated as simply somebody who follows the man subserviently in his shadow.  Today I am going to look at the life of another female artist who, for almost twelve years had, as her lover, the great Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky and one wonders how much influence she had on him and his work.    Her name is Gabriele Münter.  How many of you recognise her as a talented artist in her own right and how many of you just know her as the intimate friend and lover of the “great” Kandinsky?

Gabriele Münter was born in Berlin in 1877.  Her youth was spent in Herford and Koblenz.  She came from an upper middle-class background and from a young age enjoyed to draw and paint.  When she continued to show an interest in art, her parents decided to support her artistic ambitions and provide her with private tuition and when she was twenty years of age and after she had completed her normal education they arranged for her to attend the Malschule für Damen (Womens’ Artist School) in Dusseldorf.  At this time in Germany, women were not allowed to attend German Academies because of their sex for in Germany at the turn of the 20th century, only men were able to access government-subsidised Academies.  Her period at this school l

In a pretty little town called Murnau, in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps, there is a pretty little house that changed the course of modern art. It was here, in 1911, that a group of German and Russian artists assembled the Blaue Reiter Almanac. This book of essays and illustrations became a manifesto for a new generation of artists, who painted not only what they saw but also what they felt. These Blaue Reiter artists revolutionised European art, and the men among them became famous, most notably Wassily Kandinsky. But the Blaue Reiter wasn’t just a group of male artists. It included several female artists too, most notably Gabriele Münter. Münter was a brilliant artist, just as good as Kandinsky. So why is she hardly known about outside her native Germany, while Kandinsky is renowned worldwide?

Münter was no bit-part player in the Blaue Reiter. She was a prolific painter, with an evocative, innovative style. However, she was also Kandinsky’s lover, and while Kandinsky became a household name, Münter has gone down in history as his girlfriend, rather than an artist in her own right. It’s an injustice many female artists have had to face, but for her it seems especially unfair. Münter was a major influence on Kandinsky, and on the other Blaue Reiter artists too. She helped to fund the Almanac. She owned the house where it all happened. Without her creative input, it’s quite possible the Blaue Reiter never would have got off the ground, and the history of modern art would have taken an entirely different course.

Gabriele Münter was born in Berlin in 1877. Her family was comfortably off (her father was a dental surgeon). By the time she came of age both her parents had died, leaving her a generous private income. In 1898, at the age of 21, she set off for the United States with her sister. She spent two years travelling around the US, pursuing her passion for photography. This epic trip was a demonstration of