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Lot Essay
This painting will be included in the forthcoming Münter catalogue raisonné being prepared by the Gabriele Münter- und Johannes Eichner-Stiftung.
For Münter, the 1930s marked a revival both in love and in her art. With the onslaught of World War I, Wassily Kandinsky, Münter’s companion, was forced to leave Murnau and Germany at large to return to his native Russia. Though Münter initially joined him in exile, their relationship deteriorated and the two eventually parted ways. She had stepped away from painting after her separation from Kandinsky around 1917 and would only return to painting a decade or so later after spending the 1920s traveling extensively. After visiting Paris from October 1929-June 1930, Münter created a series of mainly portraits and street scenes which are more muted in coloration than her earlier Der Blaue Reiter style. This period of artistic reinvigoration was directly linked with her emotional state; it was only after the development of her relationship with the art historian Johannes Eichner, her second partner, that her emotional state became more stable so that she was able to work properly. With Eichner, she moved back to Murnau in 1931 and would stay there for the rest of her life. The Murnau landscape would continue to inspire her during the 1930s and beyond, just as it had been a portal of change for her earlier works in the first decade of the 20th century.
For Münter, the 1930s marked a revival both in love and in her art. With the onslaught of World War I, Wassily Kandinsky, Münter’s companion, was forced to leave Murnau and Germany at large to return to his native Russia. Though Münter initially joined him in exile, their relationship deteriorated and the two eventually parted ways. She had stepped away from painting after her separation from Kandinsky around 1917 and would only return to painting a decade or so later after spending the 1920s traveling extensively. After visiting Paris from October 1929-June 1930, Münter created a series of mainly portraits and street scenes which are more muted in coloration than her earlier Der Blaue Reiter style. This period of artistic reinvigoration was directly linked with her emotional state; it was only after the development of her relationship with the art historian Johannes Eichner, her second partner, that her emotional state became more stable so that she was able to work properly. With Eichner, she moved back to Murnau in 1931 and would stay there for the rest of her life. The Murnau landscape would continue to inspire her during the 1930s and beyond, just as it had been a portal of change for her earlier works in the first decade of the 20th century.