Gabriele Münter

Margit Winter Chanin, New York
Acquired from the above by the present owner in May 1965

The board is sound. The impasto is richly textured and well-preserved and the pigments remain bright and fresh. There is an artist's pinhole in each of the four corners and in the centre of each edge. There is some minor scuffing to the extreme perimeter of the board, notably to the lower right corner although this is not visible when framed. There is a small varnish stain just below the centre of the composition and a tiny dot of paint-loss towards the centre right edge. There appears to be no visible retouching under UV light. Overall, the work is very good original condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Landscapes inhabit a place of unparalleled importance in Münter's œuvre; they were her favourite subjects to paint, and the nuanced changes in light and weather provided ever-varying material for her explorations of colour modulation. The vast majority of her finest landscapes were painted en plein air in and around the town of Murnau, the Bavarian alpine village where she stayed with her companion Wassily Kandinsky from 1908 until 1914. During the winter of 1908-09, the couple set out by train and sled to visit the Russian composer Thomas von Hartmann and his wife Olga in the nearby alpine town of Kochel. Fascinated by the local tradition of Hinterglasmalerei (glass painting) which they discovered there, the couple experimented extensively, both producing numerous studies of the snow-covered village and its surrounding landscape. With its bold composition and broad swathes of purple and blue, Münter's response to the jewel-like luminosity and simplified forms is particularly evident in works such as the present landscape.

Kochel, Schneelandschaft mit Häusern (Kochel, Snowy Landscape with Houses) is a wonderful early example of Münter's explorations of colour and texture and it provides evidence of the significant role she would play in the evolution of art in the decade that followed. In 1911 she would go on to collaborate with Kandinsky and other artists including Alexej von Jawlensky, Franz Marc and August Macke to found the vanguard movement Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) in Munich. The group sought to liberate painting from a literal, figurative understanding of the world, reaching instead for a symbolic and spiritual dimension in their art, paving the way for a broader international appreciation of abstraction.