Bavaria

On our way to Munich and Bavaria, we stopped first in Darmstadt to visit another Hundertwasser apartment building called Waldspiral:

In another part of Darmstadt we found Mathildenhohe, an art colony founded in 1899 when Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig brought together important Art Nouveau artists, including the famous Joseph Maria Olbrich. The goal was to develop modern and forward looking methods for construction and living. The artists had homes surrounding the compound.

(not mine)

(also not mine)

Hichzeitsturm by Joseph Maria Olbrich, 1907-09

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We came across a few sculptures around town as well.

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Next stop: Plochingen for another Hundertwasser apartment building:

But there was more of interest here. Such as the sculpture:

And the peaks.

Still driving southeast, our next stop was Ulm. Famous for having the tallest steeple in the world (529.95 feet) and birthplace of Albert Einstein, the university has amassed quite a bit of sculpture on its unassuming campus.

Le Poete et sa Muse by Niki de Saint Phalle

Four Open Rectangles Excentric by George Rickey, 1977

Adam and Eve by Niki de Saint Phalle

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Our home for the next week was outside Munich in Gilching. Actually Gilching was the name of the train station. I think the village was Geisenbrunn. Train into Munich. Easy access to everywhere else. We began the next day in Munich at the Neue Pinakothek.

The focus of this historic and important gallery is 18th and 19th century European paintings, which suited us just fine.

Don Quijote by Honore Daumier, c 1868

Street in Upper Norwood by Camille Pissarro, 1871

Summer's Day on the island of Norimoutier by Maurice Denis, 1903.

Woman in Red Dress (Street in Asgardstrand) by Edvard Munch, c 1902-3

Woman in Armchair by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, c 1897

Plain near Auvers by Vincent van Gogh, 1890

Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh, 1888

The Weaver by Vincent van Gogh, 1884

Four Breton Women by Paul Gauguin, 1886

the Birth-Te tamari no atua by Paul Gauguin, 1896

Water Lilies by Claude Monet, c 1915

Agony by Egon Schiele, 1912.

Margaret Stonborough-Wittgenstein by Gustav Klimt, 1905

The Sin by Franz von Stuck, 1893

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There was more Art and sculpture around the museum and around town:

Julliet - gift from sister city Verona in 1974

Clouds by Michael Pendry in the Heilig Geist Kirche.

Maximilian Joseph Graf von Montgelas by Karin Sander, 2005

Michael Jackson memorial

Buscando la Luz by Eduardo Chillida, 1997

Present Continuous by Henk Visch, 2007-11

We headed north, the next day, aiming for Nuremberg.

Miles of hops along the way.

But on the way we saw signs for another Hundertwasser project: The Kunst Haus and Brewery at Kuchibauer Tower in Abensberg.

We found Nuremberg to be a pretty artsy place.

by Arnaldo Pomodoro

Germansche National Museum:

Portrait of Dürer's Mother Barbara nee Holper by Albrect Dürer, c 1490

Dürer lived his life in Nuremberg. Cradle to grave. And there were lots of Cranachs:

The Ill-Matched Couple by Lucas Cranach the Elder, c 1530

detail from Martyrdom of Saint Ursula by Nuremberg master c. 1510

The Red Necklace by Sepp Hilz, 1942

Lake Tegern landscape by August Macke, 1910

Head in Black and Green by Alexej von Jawlensky

Two Girls by Max Pechstein, 1909

Bathers at the Beach by Erich Heckel, 1913

Interior with Two Girls by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1908-1926

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And we saw a few sculptures:

Kurt Klutentreter by Eva Maria Weber

The next day we went south to Switzerland in search of more Hundertwasser. But first we had to stop on the German side of the Bodensee (Lake Constance). At the far east end is the tiny (1/4 sq. acre) island (connected by road-bridge and railway) town of Lindau. The first documented use of the name dates to 882, but one would suppose that it has been occupied for as long as humans were in the area. We got there early and missed the mobs of tourists that were sure to follow.

(on the way)

Sketching the Bavarian Lion.

Friederike and Lieber Augustin by Reinhold Petermann, 1982

There was an exhibition of Art by Emil Nolde at the Lindauer Stadtmuseum.

Photos were not permitted, but I was able to scrounge a few pics online:

We went around the eastern edge of the lake (and through a tiny strip of Austria) to the southern shore in Switzerland, to Thal and Hundertwasser's marketplace building, Alten Rhien. Though designed as a farmers' market, it soon turned into a private event space.

We thought we'd try driving through some Alps on the way back to Geisenbrunn.

South of Munich are a series of lakes that have always attracted the people of Bavaria, no less so the artists. Among them were members of the Fauve-inspired Blaue Reiter (Blue Rider) which came together in 1911 and lasted until 1914. Franz Marc had a place at Kochel am See, Campendonk was in Penzberg, while Wassily Kandinsky and his girlfriend Gabriele Münter bought a house in Murnau in 1908 where they were soon joined by Alexej von Jawlensky and the Countess Marianne von Werefkin.

In Murnau you can follow a trail identifying places that Kandinsky and Münter painted.

And then, of course, there was the Art of the town.

by Peter Vogece, 1977

Horvath Hat

There were a couple of forgettable exhibits in the Schlossmuseum. Of course, not being able to take pictures does not help. Next was Kochel am See for the Franz Marc Museum where they also did not allow photographs. Since this was only announced in German, I got this shot of a Marc painting before I was reprimanded:

There were other artists represented besides Marc. Many were unidentified. But they couldn't stop me from shooting the sculptures.

Hommage an Franz Marc, 1995

Gehornte Schlange aufrecht II by Horst Antes, 2002-03

Ruhende by Hans Stangl, 1933

Kochel See

It is a pretty area.

But the best surprise was the Buckheim Museum der Phantasie overlooking Starnburg See in Bernried.

Inside were vast galleries of German Expressionists, et al:

Am Waldteich by Erich Heckel, 1911

Kopf in Blau by Alexej von Jawlensky, 1920

Lots of Kirchners:

Madchenakt auf bluhender Wiese by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1909

Araber by Emil Nolde, 1920

Marine Noordwijk (Reiter am Strand) by Max Beckmann, 1946

Downstairs were lots of characters created by Angelika Littwin-Pieper:

But I couldn't find out who did these beauties:

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The following day I went West to Augsberg. Home of Leopold Mozart and Bertholt Brecht. Also home to the Glaspalast, a former textile mill, this building now houses the Staadstgalerie Modern Kunst (a branch of the Pinakotek in Munich), H2 Contemporary Art Galleries, Gallery Noah, and Kunstmuseum Walter.

The first three had little to offer. Though there are claims of paintings by real artists, the only thing I saw on the first two floors were unappealing contemporary. Upstairs, the Gallery Noah had huge paintings by Stefan Szczesny:

Badende am See by Stefan Szczesny, 1984

Im Licht des Sudens by Stefan Szczesny, 2008

The Kunstmuseum Walter represents the collection of Ignaz Walter, civil engineer and global construction magnate, and he bought the Glass Palace to house it. I was the only one in this enormous two-story museum and sorry I cannot share any of it with you. There is a very interesting collection including the usual: Rodin, Kirchner, Münter, Pechstein, Heckel, Feininger, Vaserely, even a small Niki de Saint-Phalle, to the unusual display of five feet tall glass totems. Or the sculptures Gabriele Schnitzenbaumer or Elivra Bach's wonderful paintings. Or Roman Zaslonova and Otmar Alt. None can I share. Here are a few examples I found, but not those in the museum:

Gabriele Schnitzenbaumer

Otmar Alt

Elvira Bach

My impression is that this is an extremely sensual collection. Numerous examples of nude or barely dressed women, lots of women artists, even that totem display looked awfully phallic. I'm just sayin'.

There was once a Lettl-Atrium Museum for Surreal Art, but it was closed. All very confusing and unexplained. I found one painting by Wolfgang Lettl in a conference center, but nothing more.

Die Herausforderung by Wolfgang Lettl, 2003

And these were outside:

We went into Munich on Saturday, beginning at the Franz von Stuck Museum. Von Stuck was an obviously successful painter who, at the height of his popularity, built this mansion in the 1890s. Both dark and difficult to describe, it was definitely interesting with its expanses of little gold tiles or niches for paintings and sculptures.

Dissonanz by Franz von Stuck, 1910

Blasender Faun by Franz von Stuck, 1914

Tochter Mary von Stuck by Franz von Stuck, c 1910

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After lunch in the garden, we set about exploring Munich.

Sphere 2003 by Olafur Eliasson in Fünf Höfe shopping mall

Infinite Staircase by Olafur Eliasson, 2012

Ready for another museum, we returned to the Kunstareal (Arts district) for the Lenbachhaus Museum. Actually it's called the Stadischegallerie at Lenbachhaus, which began in 1929 when Lolo, the widow of Franz von Lenbach, offered to sell her mansion to the city along with the furnishings and lots of paintings by Herr Lenbach. The city consolidated its Art holdings into this new museum and in 1957 Gabriele Münter donated her collection of Blue Rider paintings. The new wing opened in May, 2013.

We followed a cat (not really) and found old friend Asger Jorn.

So Much Talk by Asger Jorn, 1968

Turns out he had a major influence on a Munich clique called Gruppe SPUR, formed by painters Heimrad Prem, Helmut Sturm, Hans-Peter Zimmer, and sculptor Lothar Fischer in 1957. Unlike the majority of Art groups, this was not about banding together to exhibit their Art. These gentlemen worked together to investigate the possibilities. I won't go into it all now. Here are a few pieces:

SPUR Structure by Gruppe SPUR, 1963.

Dos Caballeros by Heimrad Prem, 1962

Somagenese by Lothar Fischer, 1964

E.B.K.S. by Helmut Sturm, 1962.

Then we found the artists of the Blaue Reiter.

Portrait of Gabriele Münter by Wassily Kandinsky, 1905

Deer in the Snow II by Franz Marc, 1911

Zoological Garden I by August Macke, 1912

Red Spot II by Wassily Kandinsky, 1921

Portrait of the Dancer Alexander Scharoff by Alexej Jawlensky, 1909

Jawlensky and Werefkin by Gabriele Münter, 1909

Self-Portrait I by Marianne von Werefkin, c 1910

Blue Rider added members or invited artists to exhibit with them, such as Heinrich Campendonk and Robert Delaunay.

Painting With Cow by Heinrich Campendonk, 1920.

Circular Forms, Moon No. 1 by Robert Delaunay, 1913

Interestingly, there was this painting by one woman who was not in Blue Rider, not invited to exhibit, but was part of Kandinsky's Phalanx School with Münter. Erma Bossi was a Croatian who stayed in the Murnau house with Münter, Kandinsky, Jawlensky, and Von Werefkin in 1908. Fortunately, she got some space here.