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| Gabriele Münter View of her brother's house in Bonn 1908 oil on cardboard Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid |
These Expressionist paintings from the dawn of the 20th century were chosen and acquired by Baron Hans-Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza (1921-2002), whose collection is now the basis of a public museum in Madrid. In the first period after inheriting a significant old-master picture-collection from his father, Hans-Heinrich made additional purchases only within already-established boundaries. Thyssen-Bornemisza publicity narratives explain what happened next –
"The change of focus took place at the start of the sixties, when he started to collect modern art. From then on, and with an already legendary skill in recognising exceptional quality in works of art, he broadened the scope of the collection, embracing all the important movements in modern art. In 1961 he acquired his first 20th century painting, a watercolour by the German painter, Emil Nolde. That same year he bought an important set of expressionist paintings. That art movement, that had been persecuted by the Nazis, drew his attention to modern art. German Expressionism appealed to him not only for its artistic value, but also for the historical context in which it developed. Declared to be “degenerate art” by the Nazis, it was persistently persecuted, banned and seized. What interested the baron were the human values and testimonials expressed in those paintings (more precisely, “the colour and freedom of expression” conveyed by Expressionist paintings) and he gathered together a very representative selection and formed an important collection that was one of the best of its kind."
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| Gabriele Münter Self-portrait ca. 1908 oil on cardboard Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid |
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| Gabriele Münter School-house, Murnau 1908 oil on cardboard Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid |
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| Wassily Kandinsky Murnau, top of Johannisstrasse 1908 oil on cardboard Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid |
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| Wassily Kandinsky The Ludwigskirche in Munich 1908 oil on cardboard Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid |
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| Wassily Kandinsky Murnau, houses in the Obermarket 1908 oil on cardboard Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza |
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| Christian Rohlfs Garden at Soest ca. 1905 oil on cardboard Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid |
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| Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Autumn Landscape in Oldenburg 1907 oil on canvas Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid |
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| Erich Heckel House in Dangast (The White House) 1908 oil on canvas Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid |
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| Georg Tappert Varieté 1911 oil on canvas Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid |
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| Max Pechstein House on the Kuhrische, Nehrung 1909 canvas Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid |
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| Emil Nolde Summer Afternoon 1903 oil on canvas Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid |
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| Emil Nolde Marsh Bridge 1910 oil on canvas Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid |
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| Emil Nolde Summer Clouds 1913 oil on canvas Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid |