Copenhagen is not really busy at 4.30am. How do we know, you ask? Well, it is because we, on our very own, booked a flight from Copenhagen to Munich leaving at 7.30am so we needed to be at the train station at 5am. There are always a few silly folks up at that hour but for all intents and purposes the place is empty.
Munich on the other hand is very busy at 1pm. The flight arrives at 9am and we meet our friends I and R. We say our hellos, chat for a while, have lunch and seeing as how it is really a work day I and R have to buckle down and actually work so Debbie and I head of to downtown Munich to see what is up and take in a couple of galleries.
In the late 19th century and the early 20th century Munich had replaced Berlin as the cultural center of Germany and intellectuals and artists gathered here to talk technique and philosophy. This was a time of much change and the thoughts and ideas of those in the arts would have a great influence on the future. The art work of that era is my favorite. The impressionist, the expressionists and the groups in and around that time have always piqued my interested.
Today we see a good many works by Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider Group). A group of artists including, Macke, Marc, Munter, Jawlensky, Klee, and Kandinsky. The Lenbachhaus here has a vast collection donated by Gabriele Munter in 1957. She had many works she had collected when she one of the painters in the group.
The Neue Pinakothek has a collection of works from 1800ish to 1910ish. Again some of our favorite work is from this time period. Another gallery worth stopping in at. It is arranged so you progress through the gallery in a chronological manner and it is interesting to see the development of the painting styles. One or two paintings or sculptures will be slightly different from the others of the same period. Then a ‘movement’ forms and the artists are considered quite radical. Soon the public buys in and then the ‘style’ becomes common place. Just when we get to the era that interests me most the gallery is having climate control problems in a section of the gallery and three of the rooms are closed to the public for the time being. C’est la vie, I totally enjoyed the other sections anyway.
We got up early this morning so enough touring for the day. We head back to R and I’s house enjoy a Bavarian BBQ dinner, chat for a while and head to bed.