Kallmünz—Light-Green Mountains

Gently rolling green mountain slopes fill the entire canvas.
In the foreground, a vibrant light green.
In the distance to the right, a cluster of small houses comes into view.

Summer 1903.
Twenty-five-year-old Gabriele Münter was crossing a river by boat.
Her destination was the historic Bavarian town of Kallmünz—
a picturesque town nestled in a valley beneath rocky hills crowned by medieval castle ruins.

As she arrived at the harbor, a lone bicycle greeted her.

Riding it was Wassily Kandinsky.
He was thirty-six at the time—
a teacher at the art school she attended, and already a married man.
Having arrived in the town ahead of her, he had been eagerly awaiting her arrival.

Together, the two set up their easels in this town.
Days spent capturing the landscape with a camera and taking up their paintbrushes.
In an era when the doors of art academies remained firmly closed to women, her time with someone who held her talent in such deep regard was truly special.

And that summer,
here in Kallmünz, they secretly pledged their engagement.

A vow they could share with no one.