7/4/15 Notes to Myself: Thursday I needed an "art fix". So I took myself to the Princeton University Art Museum. A pure treasure! While there, I came across an artist by the name of Gabriele Munter. I had not heard of her before but her paintings just spoke to me. Youthful in spirit and simplicity they seemed to just pop off the walls. Ms. Munter was born in 1877 in Berlin, Germany and was a German Expressionist. She is connected to Wassily Kandinsky whom she met while attending the Phalanx School. In viewing the work I can see the influence of Kandinsky. Munter accredits Kandinsky for teaching her how to paint more rapidly by using a palette knife which is evident in the image "Nightfall in St. Cloud". This piece was not part of Princeton's collection but a good illustration of painting with a palette knife. Munter traveled through Europe and the Netherlands working to capture spontaneous moments of life. She participated in a number of known "art groups" and had contact with other well known Expresssionists during the course of her life. She constantly worked toward distilling her landscapes and figurative scenes down to the most basic elements. I think this is what gives them a childlike quality that just draws the viewer in. Painting is excellent practice but viewing master works also teaches me a lot.
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