MuSeenLandschaft Expressionismus - Art and the Countryside between Munich and the Alps

Expressionist painters at the beginning of the 20th century were attracted by the bright colours of the surroundings, which they depicted with bold colours and shapes. The artists of the "Blaue Reiter" movement, Wassily Kandinsky, Gabriele Münter, Franz Marc, Alexej von Jawlensky and Heinrich Campendonk, were particularly associated with the region. Emil Nolde and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner also visited the region before moving to Dresden. The five museums provide a concentrated and high-quality overview of German Expressionism and the "Blauer Reiter" group of artists. Many of the works on display were created here in the foothills of the Alps.

The tip for active people and nature lovers! A cycle tour (external link, opens in a new window) leads along the five museums, which, in addition to admiring the landscape, also offers the opportunity to enjoy art to the full. The entire tour is around 185 kilometres long. It is therefore advisable to cycle the route in three or five stages. With two or four overnight stays in one of the towns along the route, there is guaranteed to be enough time for an exciting museum visit.

The Buchheim Museum in Bernried is located in the popular excursion region around Lake Starnberger See and Lake Ammersee. In the collection of the writer and painter Lothar Günther Buchheim, curiosities from all over the world can be discovered alongside the top-class Expressionist collection of paintings, watercolours, drawings and prints. The "secondary collections" include arts and crafts from all over the world, Bavarian folk art, cult artefacts from Africa and other non-European countries. This makes the Buchheim Museum of Fantasy a highlight for young and old alike! The Buchheim Museum is an experience that appeals to all the senses. Visitors experience the museum from three perspectives: art, architecture and nature form an impressive unity.

Tip for good weather: from April to October, you can combine a visit to the museum with a trip to Bernried on the scheduled boats of the Bayerischen Seenschifffahrt (external link, opens in a new window) on Lake Starnberg.

The Museum Penzberg - Campendonk Collection) offers space for the presentation of the world's largest collection of works by the youngest member of the Blue Rider, Heinrich Campendonk. His reverse glass paintings in particular are impressive in their beauty, but Campendonk's oeuvre also includes oil paintings and watercolours, early brush-and-ink drawings and woodcuts.

The museum is also an architectural highlight - the striking extension forms an exciting contrast to the listed old building.

How about a trip to the town's “Christkönigkirche”? Campendonk designed award-winning stained glass windows for the church.

In addition to the paintings and drawings by Münter, Kandinsky, Marc, Jawlensky and von Werefkin, the Schloßmuseum Murnau (Murnau Castle Museum) is home to an impressive collection of reverse glass paintings, a technique that the Murnau Expressionists copied from local artists. The centrepiece of the museum is the extensive collection of works by Gabriele Münter with over 80 paintings, drawings and prints from the period between 1902 and shortly before her death in 1962. Visitors are offered a vivid overview of Gabriele Münter's artistic development, which was so decisively influenced by the location and landscape of the foothills of the Alps.

Also worth a detour is the former home of Gabriele Münter and Wassily Kandinsky with a view of the Staffelsee, which today, as the Gabriele Münter-Haus (Gabriele Münter House), brings the artists' living and working environments to life. Numerous works by the two artists were created here and other members of The Blue Rider were also frequent visitors.

The Blue Land, the idyllic region between Kochel a. See, Murnau and Sindelsdorf, not only represented a country retreat and excursion destination for Franz Marc, but was also an important source of inspiration for his art. The Franz Marc Museum was therefore located in Kochel a. See due to the importance of the Upper Bavarian Alpine foothills for the artists of the Blue Rider. Here, in the place where Franz Marc bought a house for himself and his wife Maria, you can now marvel at important works by the Expressionist group of artists.

The dialogue between art and nature determines the presentation of the collection and the exhibition programme of the Franz Marc Museum. The museum's location with a view of the lake and the mountain backdrop sheds new light on the works of German Expressionism. The museum is the perfect destination for a summer excursion - let's go!

The Lenbachhaus, in the centre of the cultural city of Munich, is also part of the MuSeenlandschaft Expressionismus. The world's largest collection of "Blue Rider" art is exhibited in the former artist residence of the painter prince Franz von Lenbach. Other focal points are Munich art of the 19th century, New Objectivity and international contemporary art.

With its location directly on Königsplatz, the museum is embedded in an interesting historical context - and is ideal for city travellers, Munich residents, art enthusiasts or those simply looking for peace and quiet!

Anna Blenninger, Theresa Geßler