Kunstmuseum Den Haag welcomes Gabriele Münter to its collection

The museum is grateful and proud to present its latest acquisition, the 1911 painting Boys on Shrove Tuesday by Gabriele Münter (1877-1962). The work is presented as part of an intimate exhibition that places Münter among her contemporaries and artistic brethren. The painting has been on show in the museum for some years on long-term loan, but has now been donated by THE EKARD COLLECTION in memory and honour of Henry and Erica Drake.

Out of the shadows
Kunstmuseum Den Haag is the proud custodian of a German expressionists collection that includes a group of works by the artists of Der Blaue Reiter (‘The Blue Rider’). This part of the collection has been steadily expanded since the 1920s, and now includes work by Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Alexej von Jawlensky, August Macke, Heinrich Campendonk and Paul Klee. The most important items in the collection were purchased after the Second World War, mainly in the 1950s. However, the museum has never acquired any work by Gabriele Münter, who was part of this group of artists from the very beginning. For many years she was wrongly overlooked because of her renowned partner Kandinsky. But in recent years interest in Münter’s work has grown, and her role in German expressionism is now acknowledged. The acquisition of Boys on Shrove Tuesday therefore not only enriches the museum’s collection, it is also a vital addition that allows us to present a more complete account of Der Blaue Reiter.

Boys on Shrove Tuesday
Gabriele Münter probably painted Boys on Shrove Tuesday in the winter or early spring of 1911. We see two boys dressed in warm winter clothing on a village street, with snow in the background. Their caps and glasses hide their faces, and only their frozen noses and rosy cheeks are visible. One of the boys is eating a pancake. The tradition of Shrove Tuesday goes back to the Middle Ages, and is related both to Carnival and to Maslenitsa – a Russian pancake festival. This day in February or March is marked by the eating of pancakes in many European countries, and indeed Shrove Tuesday is also known as ‘Pancake Day’ or ‘Fat Tuesday’, symbolising the end of Carnival and the beginning of Lent.