Winterlandscape in Bavaria 1950

Gabriele Münter, sometime in the early 20th century, made this painting of a Bavarian winter landscape with what looks like oil on board. It’s a simple scene, but the way she handles the paint is what gets me. The colors are so carefully chosen: the pinkish lavender sky, the cool blues and purples of the snow, and that pop of orange on the house. And look at those ski tracks, how they curve and wind down the hill, each one a slightly different shape, a different weight. There’s a real sense of play here, a joy in the act of making. What strikes me most is how Munter isn’t trying to hide the process. You can see the brushstrokes, the way the paint is applied in layers. It reminds me a bit of Lois Dodd, in that the making of the image is as important as the image itself. It's like she's saying, "Hey, this is paint, this is a brush, and this is me, making a picture." There is a real generosity to that, an openness that invites you in to share in the experience.