Seeing the Thyssen's upcoming Gabriele Münter exhibition through the eyes of its curator
With a masterful selection of more than 100 of Gabriele Münter's paintings, prints, photographs, and drawings, curator Marta Ruiz del Árbol brings a unique perspective on the great Expressionist's long and impressive career. Here, she discusses the challenges of curating Münter's first-ever retrospective in Spain, and the satisfaction of elevating one of the twentieth century's most influential—but often overlooked—artists.
Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza
As curator of modern painting and temporary exhibit coordinator at Madrid's Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Marta Ruiz del Árbol has made it her mission to help museum visitors see artists from refreshing new perspectives. The latest subject of her efforts may be among the most deserving of a new look.
With Gabriele Münter: The Great Expressionist Woman Painter, Ruiz del Árbol reintroduces us to one of the most relevant artists of German Expressionism. Cofounder of the legendary Blue Rider (Blaue Reiter) group of artists, Münter (1877-1962) shook up the landscape, portrait, and still-life genres with her characteristic style. Using deep colours and sharp lines, Münter draws viewers into a world where people, landscapes, and everyday scenes radiate energy and emotion.
Münter's Expressionist paintings are hardly unknown. The Thyssen itself has four in its permanent collection, which form a starting point for the groundbreaking show debuting on 12 November. But Münter's work in other media, including photography, drawing, and printmaking, is often overlooked, despite its importance to the long arc of the artist's career.
That changes with the coming Thyssen exhibition, Münter's first-ever retrospective in Spain. Through over 100 paintings, drawings, graphic art pieces, and photographs, it views her work in relation to both time period and theme. The result is a portrait of an artist who rebelled against the limits put on women at the time and took the lead in a modernist art movement that shifted from emphasising realism to focussing on emotional and spiritual themes.
Ruiz del Árbol says that the three years she spent dedicated to the project were rewarding in countless ways.
"Every project I take on is a sort of voyage that allows me to delve in-depth into a subject and then convey the knowledge acquired to others in the form of an exhibition," she explains. "Organizing this exhibition opened the doors for me to a great artist who was previously only known for her Expressionist phase between 1908 and 1916."
Museum visitors generally only see completed exhibits, not the behind-the-scenes work—which, for a project of this magnitude, can be formidable. At every step of the Münter exhibit preparation, from idea to execution, different challenges presented themselves, recounts Ruiz del Árbol.
"The preparation for the exhibition was comprised of numerous rather laborious stages, ranging from research on the artist [to] the selection of works to display to handling the loan for each of the paintings," she says. "This time the main challenge was getting the collectors to agree to loan their pieces to Madrid."
Ruiz del Árbol was eventually given the green light, thanks to the collectors' wholehearted support of the exhibition's theme.
"The good news is that they were fascinated by our project, and Münter's main works will be at our museum this autumn and winter," Ruiz del Árbol says.
Not surprisingly, the curator feels nothing but pride for the project—and for the artist at its heart.
"It was priceless to be able to spend these past three years delving into the life and work of an artist who continues to fascinate us for being so modern," she says. "It's also priceless to pay homage to such a relevant figure [in] twentieth-century art as Gabriele Münter."
