(Berlin 1877–1962 Murnau, Upper Bavaria)
Lilies, signed, dated Münter 1940, signed, dated Münter 1940 on the reverse, inscribed on the stretcher G. Münter Murnau, oil on canvas, 74 x 50 cm, framed, (PP)

The painting, Lilies, is listed as no. 20 in Gabriele Münter’s work book from 1940. The work will be included in the catalogue raisonné of Gabriele Münter’s paintings published by the Gabriele Münter- und Johannes Eichner-Stiftung.

Provenance:
Karl & Faber, Munich, 31 May 1979, lot 1789
Galerie Thomas, Munich (label with different dimensions on the reverse)
European Private Collection

The present work, “Lilies”, is an example of numerous still lifes with flowers by the artist in this period. A reduction to the essential is evident in this painting, as it had been from the earliest days of her career. A vase filled with white lilies and smaller red flowers sits on the edge of a table. The large colour fields behind it, which represent curtains, foreshorten the viewer’s gaze, whilst the radiant white of the petals is given a particular emphasis. The flattened nature of the composition, the concentration on the flowers and even the vase’s decoration close to the picture plane, lend a sense of great tranquillity to the image.