"From the Griesbräu Window (1908) depicts a town in the Bavarian Alps, Murnau am Staffelsee, as seen from the window of a brewery-inn on the market square. Murnau was in the midst of a beautification project, adding colorful facades to its buildings in order to attract tourists, and the idea of color as invitation resonates here and across Münter's oeuvre. Pink brushstrokes link the foreground rooftops to distant mountains, beckoning the viewer to linger over a landscape that the artist associated with feelings of liberation and an unlocking of her creative potential."
"Münter was in Murnau with her then-partner (and former teacher), Wassily Kandinsky, who also painted the view. Together, the two developed a boldly expressive style, codified in 1911 with the formation of Der Blaue Reiter, a loose association of painters working in and around Munich. Yet while much of Expressionism can feel outwardly explosive, Münter offers particularly intimate views. This is not to say that she couldn't partake in the action: her exuberant Dragon Fight (1913), based on the myth of Saint George slaying the dragon, proves she very much could. Often read as an allegory of the new guard artists in Der Blaue Reiter fighting against the old order, the painting is most of all a study in dynamic color, the green of the landscape in violent contrast with the spreading pool of red blood from the multi-headed dragon's severed necks."
Gabriele Münter painted landscapes and interiors that prioritize color as an act of invitation and expression. From the Griesbräu Window (1908) frames Murnau am Staffelsee through pink brushstrokes that link rooftops to distant mountains and suggest creative liberation. Münter worked alongside Wassily Kandinsky in Murnau, and both contributed to the stylistic impulses that coalesced around Der Blaue Reiter in 1911. Dragon Fight (1913) uses mythic subject matter to stage a study in dynamic color, juxtaposing verdant landscape with a spreading pool of red. Several quieter domestic interiors capture intense intimacy and everyday presence.
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