Lenbachhaus Gallery Munich – 'Der Blaue Reiter' movement

​Lenbachhaus is an art gallery that is located inside the former residence of the artist Franz Lenbach. His widow donated the building and its contents to the City of Munich, which they then transformed into creating a museum housing the works primarily from the Munich Art movement, 'Der Blaue Reiter' (The Blue Rider). The Blue Rider was a small but influential movement for its short time of 1911 - 1914 and was founded by artists including Wassily Kandinsky, Gabriele Münter, Franz Marc and Paul Klee.

Lenbachhaus Gallery houses a large retrospective of paintings from this movement. Strong, bold colours of figures, heavy black lines and strong strokes. Themes include, though not exclusively, animals and landscapes. Evoking German Expressionism, the paintings are unique in their timeless representation of this period.

This gallery is for me unique in the sense that I not only live where The Blue Rider (and the intricate history connected with it) took place,  but also that when you go to this gallery, you feel as if the movement is alive, as if the paintings were painted yesterday and the artists are exhibiting for the first time.