Kandinsky and Erma Bossi at the Table in the Murnau House
Gabriele Münter created the large painting "Kandinsky and Erma Bossi at the Table" based on a pencil sketch in which she spontaneously recorded the situation of a table conversation between Kandinsky and the artist friend of hers. The two artists are sitting at a table with a short white tablecloth in a corner of the Murnau living room, framed by a black wall paneling that underlines their intimacy and togetherness. Kandinsky lectures with his hand raised, while Erma Bossi, who has known Kandinsky since they worked together in the 'Neue Künstlervereinigung München', listens intently.
While the woman is included in the black and white of her surroundings and her leaning figure with her arms propped up is turned towards the speaker, attention is focused on his figure with the bright blue jacket and the light blue glasses. These two shades of blue reappear several times in the picture, for example in the simple blue and white tableware or in the royal blue of the decorative objects on the shelf above them.
As in "Zulisten (Bildnis Jawlensky)", Münter's concern here was not so much to trace the portraits of her two comrades as to filter out what is characteristic of the situation as in an extract. For Münter, this seemed to manifest itself in a certain formal perception, because "Kandinsky and Erma Bossi at the Table" is also characterized by simple, tense formal relationships. The open and closed rectangles, which surround the pair in the middle with a well-considered systematic approach, play an important role in streamlining the design and concentrating on essential points.
In brief allusions, Münter also describes the interior of the Murnau house with its collection objects, the folklore of which Kandinsky adapts in country costume with rough sandals and stockings. With the image of this lively table conversation, Münter also captures something of the atmosphere of the lively discussions of those years and Kandinsky's claim to intellectual leadership with a sure grip and quiet comedy.
lenbachhaus
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