GALERIE THOMAS at Art Basel

June 13 to 16, 2019, Hall 2.0, Booth H13

As one of the leading international galleries for German Expressionism and Classical Modern Art located in Munich, Galerie Thomas is proud to focus its booth on two of the most important painters of Expressionism – Edvard Munch and Chaim Soutine.

“Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye... it also includes the inner pictures of the soul.”

Edvard Munch

Beyond German Expressionism and the artists of the “Brücke” and “Blue Rider” groups, Munch and Soutine, in their own way and as solitary figures in modern art history, have been of enormous influence for the art of their time and paved the way for the development of modern painting up to Abstract Expressionism. Not only their distinct painterly language, but also the motifs and iconographic formulations they found for their compositions are important contributions to modern art.

On the one hand, they seem close to each other in terms of style, painting in a flowing, at times almost ornamental expression in a tonal colour range, accentuated by complementary colours and also through their compositions, 

which seem almost cinematic in their shifted perspectives and angles. On the other hand, Munch and Soutine differ in their use of colour itself. While Edvard Munch’s colours seem to float in their transparency, Chaim Soutine lets all colours penetrate each other, seemingly molding them in their texture to produce an almost tangible lushness.

A central theme for both artists was the condition of man and the emotional states of the individual, which led Munch to his iconic symbol of the “Scream”, while Soutine found an expression for his concerns in each emotionally charged landscape and still life. From this point of view, these two masters complement one another: Munch representing the Spiritual and the Ephemeral, Soutine standing for the Earth-bound and the Physical.

On view at Galerie Thomas’ booth at Art Basel 2019 is a selection of paintings and works on paper by both artists. They are complemented by further Expressionist and Classical Modern artworks, featuring artists like Marc Chagall, Max Ernst, Alexej Jawlensky, Erich Heckel, August Macke, Paul Klee, and Pablo Picasso.

For further information as well as high resolution images please contact Vera Daume at +49 89 29 000 835 / [email protected]