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Art of the 20th Century
Gabriele
Munter
Gabriele Munter
(b Berlin, 19 Feb 1877; d Murnau, Bavaria, 19 May 1962).
German painter. Her formal art education began in Düsseldorf in 1897 at the Malschule für Damen. While in the USA (1898–1900), Münter developed a proficiency in sketching casual poses with an economic use of line, for example Aunt Lou in Plainview (1899; Munich, Lenbachhaus). On returning to Germany she enrolled in 1901 at the Künstlerinnen-Verein in Munich. In 1902 she entered the recently established Phalanxschule, which closely followed the arts and crafts tradition of Jugendstil. Münter first encountered still-life painting in evening classes taught by the Director of the school, Vasily Kandinsky, and during the summers of 1902 and 1903 she attended courses in landscape painting under his guidance. During this period they became engaged, but they never married. From 1904 to 1908 they travelled extensively outside Germany, visiting Sèvres in 1906–7. Münter attempted larger landscape paintings that acquired greater atmospheric qualities as a result of her contact with French Impressionist painting. She also experimented with colour linocuts, and a group of portraits in this medium were exhibited at the Salon d’Automne in 1907, including a portrait of Kandinsky (1906; New York, Leonard Hutton Gals).
