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Gabriele Munter: Munter's personal life was also reflected in her subject matter. At her Murnau home, she enjoyed the illusion of domestic bliss even though Kandinsky never married her. A telling example of her complex and ultimately unsatisfying relationship with him is revealed in Interior, Still Life of a Bedroom. Munter paints a room with a washstand and cupboards. Through the open doorway is Kandinsky lying in bed reading. The main focus of this painting is a long throw rug in the middle of the washroom floor. While it should lead to the open doorway and Kandinsky, instead it leads to the corner of the washstand, a physical and emotional dead end. Kandinsky may have served as father figure in Munter's life. He was eleven years older than she. Munter lost her father when she was nine and her mother when she was 20. Within a short time of knowing each other, Kandinsky and Munter became romantically involved. Within a year, they were secretly engaged, awaiting his divorce from his wife. Munter waited fourteen years for Kandinsky to fulfill this promise, but he never did. One year while he was visiting Russia, she learned through friends of his new marriage to Nina von Andreevskaya. Shortly after this news, Munter stopped all contact with Kandinsky. She claimed that he was no inspiration to her work and was in fact discouraging to her throughout their years together. |
Interior (Still Life, Bedroom), 1909, oil on cardboard,
20 7/8 by 28 inches. Apparently he was an influence and encouragement to her though. Kandinsky helped Munter to flourish at a time when it was not common for women artists to survive in the art world. Reflecting back on Gabriele Munter's exquisite body of work, even as a companion to Kandinsky, one has to keep in mind the level of acceptance of women's art at that time. That she was the only woman among the Expressionists is a testament to her vision and genius. |
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