Munich Moderns – May 2026
Study Tours
Dr Niccola Shearman and Maria Mehlst盲ubl-Truman
Wednesday 20 – Friday 22 May 2026
拢495
N.B This tour also runs in the autumn, Wednesday 2 September – Friday 4 September 2026, 拢495
Tour Description
After 1900, the city of Munich rivalled Paris as a cosmopolitan hub of experiment. Here it was that Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Gabriele M蠇nter and others developed an emotional expressionism, putting colour and form at the service of the spirit, and an 鈥渋nner necessity鈥. This tour begins in the galleries of the Lenbachhaus: preserving the original decorative interiors of late-nineteenth-century aesthetes, its celebrated collection of art works by 迟丑别听Blaue Reiter听group presents the unfolding path towards abstract painting.
The twentieth-century displays of the Pinakothek der Moderne complete the wider picture, including the sober gaze of 1920s鈥 New Objectivity; the notorious period of Nazi iconoclasm known as the 鈥楧egenerate Art鈥 campaign, and works created after 1945 in which artists confront their history. Pursuing the Expressionists鈥 embrace of 鈥榓uthenticity鈥 in art and life, we shall take a day trip into the Bavarian countryside. Dependent on timetables, the destination will either be the stunning Museum Buchheim on the shore of Lake Starnberg, for an immersion in the work of 迟丑别听叠谤蠇肠办别听group (originally launched in Dresden in 1905 by Erich Heckel and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner); or alternatively, the artists鈥 town of Murnau, summer home and source of inspiration to Gabriele M蠇nter, Kandinsky and others.
In contrast to the colourful history at the cradle of German modernism, the tour includes important reflections on events that led to Munich becoming the grave of so much potential energy. A walk around the ceremonial parade ground of听碍缨苍颈驳蝉辫濒补迟锄听and a visit to 迟丑别听Haus der Kunst 鈥 Fascist temple to 鈥楪reat German Art鈥 opened in 1938 as the vitriolic 鈥楧egenerate Art鈥 exhibition was staged nearby 鈥 will take us past and into some architectural relics of Hitler鈥檚 sinister manipulation of culture.
Lecturers' Biographies
Dr Niccola Shearman听is an independent historian of twentieth-century art, with a focus on Germany and Austria to 1945. She has held academic positions at the University of Manchester and at the 91自拍, and also contributes to the V&A Academy. She has published various articles on German printmaking and its reception, as well as contributions to the catalogue for听Expressionists: Kandinsky, M眉nter and the Blue Rider听(Tate, 2024), and is co-editor of the forthcoming volume听German Art in an Expanded Field, essays in honour of Shulamith Behr听(2026). In 2025, together with Dr Emily Christensen she curated the 91自拍 Gallery exhibition With Graphic Intent.
Maria Mehlst盲ubl-Truman听works in primary education, having previously completed degrees in anthropology and in interpreting and translation. As a true 鈥楳眉nchner Kindl鈥 with long family connections to the bohemian artists鈥 quarter of Schwabing, she combines a passion for art and literature with her experience of the rich oral history of the city. Maria recently completed her MA in History of Art where she specialised in German Expressionism and artists鈥 colonies in Bavaria around 1900. All of this makes her ideally qualified to be your personal guide in our walks around Munich.