During the summer of 1903 Kandinsky took several of his students to Kallmünz, a picturesque village in the Upper Palatinate (Oberpfalz) where the Vils and Naab rivers converge. The bridge over the Vils appears in Kandinskys painting Kallmünz – Gabriele Munter beim Malen I (Roethel and Benjamin 1982, no.98). The Naabbrucke is depicted in Kallmünz – Blick auf die Stadt (Roethel and Benjamin 1982, no.83), Kallmünz – mit Brücke (Koethel and Benjamin 1982, no.87) and in a detailed drawing on p.9 of Sketchbook 10 (Barnett 2007). In fact, a photograph (fig.1) taken by Gabriele Münter from the medieval castle on the hill overlooking Kallmünz confirms the site. After comparing the present work with other canvasboards such as Kallmünz – Naturstudie zur gelben Postkutsche (Roethel and Benjamin 1982, no.95) and especially Oberpfalz – Waldlichtung mit Kirche (Roethel and Benjamin 1982, no.97) made by Kandinsky during the summer of 1903, it became evident that the brushwork and the freedom of paint handling pointed conclusively to Kandinsky’s authorship. During the summer of 1903, the friendship between Kandinsky and Münter that had begun a year earlier in Kochel became much closer: while in Kallmünz Kandinsky gave Gabriele an engagement present – even though he was still married to Anja.

Condition report:

The painting is in excellent condition.