Gabriele Münter

Estate of the artist
Mr. Heinz Rose (by descent from the above)
Leonard Hutton Galleries, New York
C.D.R. Fine Art Ltd. (Claus Runkel), London (acquired from the above in 1985)
Acquired from the above in 1986

Munich, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus, Gabriele Münter 1877-1962, Gemälde, Zeichnungen, Hinterglasbilder und Volkskunst aus ihrem Besitz, 1977, no. 54, illustrated in color in the catalogue
New York, Achim Moeller Fine Art, Ltd., 1985

This work is in excellent condition. The board is sound with a very slight amount of curvature. There is a layer of varnish on the surface and some very minor frame rubbing to the extreme lower edge. Under UV light two small areas of restoration are visible near the upper edge. There are other pigments and areas of pooling varnish which fluoresce but appear to be original.
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.
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Set against the dramatic backdrop of Alpine peaks, the picturesque countryside surrounding the major German cities provided Gabriele Münter with a constant source of inspiration and an ideal opportunity to paint outdoors; landscapes were Münter's preferred subject, and although she spent numerous years traveling throughout Europe with her companion Wassily Kandinsky in the first decade of the twentieth Century, she returned to the imagery of her native country repeatedly throughout her career.

Houses and cityscapes often figured prominently in Münter’s landscapes as she was fascinated by the intersection of nature with the man-made world. Painted in 1911, the year that Münter—in collaboration with Alexej von Jawlensky, Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc and August Macke—founded the vanguard movement Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) in Munich, the present work depicts a street scene as seen from her brother’s balcony, in which the roofs of distant houses imitate and morph into the mountainous hills surrounding Bonn. A superb example of Münter's inventive explorations of color and texture, the artist meticulously layers contrasting colors and delineates forms with thick black contours in a dramatic effort to create a unique sense of balance. Münter loved to paint at dusk when the visible world was drenched in late afternoon sun allowing her to turn atmospheric nuance into tangible form in her paintings. The jostling buildings and trees in Blick vom Balkon des Bonner Hauses clamor for space in the picture plane and juxtapose a sense of flatness with uneasy depth. Her decision to exclude figures from the streets creates a tension amidst the intersecting planes and blocks of color that generates an expectation for life which is must remain unfulfilled. Münter’s rejection of traditional narratives in works such as Blick vom Balkon des Bonner Hauses, was driven by a new visualization of the modern world that continued to shape Expressionism and the avant-garde itself for a generation.