In a diary entry from 1926, Expressionist painter and artist Gabriele Münter (1877–1962) ruminated on her continued position on the periphery of the art world, noting: “In the eyes of many, I was nothing but an unnecessary addition to Kandinsky. That a woman can have an original, real talent, that she can be a creative person, is easily forgotten. A woman standing alone—even one of my kind—can never assert herself without help. Other ‘authorities’ have to advocate on her behalf.” Münter well understood that her very ability to have a career was predicated on her association with her more celebrated former partner. Nevertheless, during the 14 years Münter and Kandinsky spent together, as well as the many decades after their split, the artist navigated an unflinching creative life all her own.
“Gabriele Münter: Retrospective,” an exhibition at Vienna’s Leopold Museum, opening October 20 and running through February 18 of next year, features over 120 of the artist’s works. Now is the time for us to see Münter and her oeuvre in
