The Still Lives of Gabriele Münter

Gabriele Münter (1877 - 1962) is best known as a German Expressionist artist. Together with Wassily Kandinsky, who was at that time her partner, she was a founding member of The Blue Rider Movement, a short lived but important movement which laid the groundwork for German Expressionism (1911 - 1914). These artists heralded the importance of color and form in expressing their inner thoughts, views on spirituality and to convey powerful emotions like anxiety and love. 

Still Life on the Tramway (After Shopping) c. 1909 - 1912 Münter shows her originality in turning this scene into a temporary still life which will come undone as soon as the passenger gets up. The sense of a still life is enforced by the pot of flowers held in her hands and again with the flower motif on the woman’s purse. The choice to paint a section of the figure reenforces our focus on the still life created on the woman’s lap. 

Still Life with Mirror 1913 In this highly modern composition, Münter uses a mirror to frame an intimate still life composed of a jewelry box on top of a dresser. The frames on the wall are depicted empty of content or with blurry figures. The pillow on top of the bed is also part of this still life. Color is used to give perspective to the scene. Notice the mirror on top of the jewelry box reflects back to the viewer what I assume is an eloganted image of the artist.

Still Life with Saint George 1911 This still life depicts objects from Münter’s folk art collection laid out on a table top. Some objects are more defined than others. Some objects are just blurred making them unidentifiable. We can pick out a blue vase with flowers in the background. St. George on a horse seems to float over the rest of the composition and it is emanating light in an otherwise dark and somber composition.

Pentecost Still Life II 1934 This painting is part of a series of paintings that uses a folk art approach to represent the Christian subject of the Holy Spirit. The carving of the dove, positioned on its back with its legs up, gives the impression of it being dead. The ceramic plate in back of the dove has circular decorations which can be interpreted as a halo but in effect they seem to come closer to an archery board. The flowers in the vase seem wilted and dry. The only live component of this composition is the fruit in the foreground. This painting was done when Germany witnessed the rise of Hitler to supreme power, the purge of internal rivals and the rise of antisemitic laws which led to totalitarian rule.

Still Life with Red Cutlery 1930 Münter explains how she came about this still life to her partner Johannes Eichner in a letter: "Last night, I wanted to write cards and letters, as I had intended to do for some time - doing a little sewing would have been just as good - but instead, I painted a still life that I spotted while clearing the table. Red cutlery in a white bowl (and a lemon) with the shadows they cast." The serving utensils in the bowl and the chair in the background bring into the composition the presence of a human although not depicted. Like a photgraph, the composition zooms in on exactly what the artist wanted to feature.

Breakfast of the Birds 1934 This work is not a still-life in the traditional sense but it is a major component of this reflective portrayal of Münter herself. As the figure looks at the birds outside her window, our eyes are drawn to the still life on the table - coffee pot, milk pitcher and a plate on one side and the cakes set out on the other side. These carefully positioned objects bring some sense of normalcy to an otherwise melancholic and solitary composition.

Still Life in front of The Yellow House 1953 In this composition, we see Münter add a still life in front of a landscape painting, which happens to be a reproduction of one of her 1911 paintings. Not only is she incorporating two different genres in one work, but the landscape projects the dark colors of winter, while the still life, composed of fruit and flowers on a table, radiates a spring light.

The images of these works were taken at the show Gabriele Münter: Painting to the Point at Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris which ran from April 4 to August 24, 2025