7/4/15 Notes to Myself:

Fisherman's House G. Munter 1908
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.

From Norway Gabriele Munter 1917
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".

"Nightfall in St. Cloud" G.Munter 1906
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.