Gabriele Mnter

Vocation

Notable

Family

German expressionist painter who was at the forefront of the Munich avant-garde in the early 20th century. A student and lover of the painter Wassily Kandinsky, she was a founding member of the expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), along with Kandinsky and Franz Marc. Within the group, artistic approaches and aims varied amongst artists; however, they shared a common desire to express spiritual truths through art. They championed modern art, the connection between visual art and music, the spiritual and symbolic associations of colour and a spontaneous, intuitive approach to painting in its move toward abstraction. Münter was born to upper middle class parents. In 1898, she decided to take a trip to America with her sister to visit extended family. They stayed in America for over two years, mainly in the states of Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri. Both girls had inherited a large amount of money, allowing them to live freely and independently. Her childhood and early adulthood greatly impacted her future artistic career. She had a free and unrestricted life that was unconstrained by convention. Living in America and Europe had given Münter social exposure that many women did not have at the time. She began taking classes at the Munich’s progressive new Phalanx School, where she studied woodcut techniques, sculpture, painting, and printmaking. Soon after she began taking classes, Münter became attached to the Phalanx School’s director, the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky. Kandinsky was the first teacher that had actually taken Münter’s painting abilities seriously. In the summer of 1902, Kandinsky invited Münter to join him at his summer painting classes just south of Munich in the Alps. She accepted, and their relationship became more personal than professional. In 1909 Münter began using glass as a medium. This was a process that had been adopted by Kandinsky, Franz Marc, August Macke, and Heinrich Campendonk. But Münter was the first one to actually copy the traditional practices that this kind of work had to offer. Soon enough Münter and Kandinsky, along with the other artists, began painting their own designs on the glass pieces. This was a process she had learned after discovering Bavarian and Bohemian Hinterglasmalerei, which was basically glass painted on its back side. This was one step that the group the Blaue Reiter had taken towards primitive art. Kandinsky’s and Münter’s professional and personal relationship lasted for about twelve years, between 1902 and 1916. During this time their relationship affected Münter’s art. Kandinsky was married for fifteen years while he was in a relationship with Münter. They spent a great deal of time together travelling through Europe. She died at home in Murnau am Staffelsee on 19 May 1962. Link to Wikipedia biography