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Lot Essay
The Gabriele Mnter- und Johannes Eichner-Stiftung, in the Lenbachhaus, Munich, have kindly confirmed the authenticity of this work adding that the work is recorded under no. L189 in their archive.
The present work was painted by Gabriele Mnter in 1908 when she first came to Murnau (see Lot 61). She discovered many of her motifs in and around the village and in the beautiful Bavarian landscape. At the time she found many sources of inspiration, one of which, and possibly the most important, was the Bavarian folk art Hinterglasmalerei. Mnter was an avid collector of Bavarian folk art and incorporated certain formal features in her paintings. In the present work the composition with its high density, structural elements and clear outlines filled in with colour fields have a strong rapport with Hinterglasmalerei. It also owes a great deal to the Jugenstil interest in colourism and decorative, planar abstraction
The present work also illustrates how Mnter was not only a colourist but also a draughtsman. She herself stated: "Wer aufmerksam meine Gemlde betrachtet, findet in ihnen den Zeichner. Trotz aller Farbigkeit ist ein festes, zeichnerisches Gerst da. Meist zeichne ich meine Bilder mit schwarzem Pinsel auf die Pappe oder Leinwand, ehe ich an die Farbe gehe. Zugrunde liegt in der Regel eine kleine Bleistiftskizze, die ich unter dem Eindruck des Motivs gemacht habe." (Gabriele Mnter, Bekenntnisse und Erinnerungen, in Hartlaub, p. 21)
The present work was painted by Gabriele Mnter in 1908 when she first came to Murnau (see Lot 61). She discovered many of her motifs in and around the village and in the beautiful Bavarian landscape. At the time she found many sources of inspiration, one of which, and possibly the most important, was the Bavarian folk art Hinterglasmalerei. Mnter was an avid collector of Bavarian folk art and incorporated certain formal features in her paintings. In the present work the composition with its high density, structural elements and clear outlines filled in with colour fields have a strong rapport with Hinterglasmalerei. It also owes a great deal to the Jugenstil interest in colourism and decorative, planar abstraction
The present work also illustrates how Mnter was not only a colourist but also a draughtsman. She herself stated: "Wer aufmerksam meine Gemlde betrachtet, findet in ihnen den Zeichner. Trotz aller Farbigkeit ist ein festes, zeichnerisches Gerst da. Meist zeichne ich meine Bilder mit schwarzem Pinsel auf die Pappe oder Leinwand, ehe ich an die Farbe gehe. Zugrunde liegt in der Regel eine kleine Bleistiftskizze, die ich unter dem Eindruck des Motivs gemacht habe." (Gabriele Mnter, Bekenntnisse und Erinnerungen, in Hartlaub, p. 21)