Art and Museums in Parson's Corner

...as if the colors came down right from the sky

I wish I could have been there, in the early 20th century when Franz Marc lived in Sindelsdorf . When famous artists of the likes of Kandinsky and Alexej von Jawlensky were frequently visiting him, as they were all under the spell of the special light over Pfaffenwinkel.

Looking at the frescos by Johann Baptist Zimmermann (brother of the fames architect!) or by Matthäus Günther - they all were inspired by this light, it went right into their work. This deep pink that sometimes borders on yellow, and then again on blue. The threatening clouds. At the same time, these Rococo masters played their part in promoting the reputation of the stucco school of Wessebrunn all over Europe.

The Buchheim Museum - come and see for yourself

The new Buchheim Museum in Bernried - fantastic, unusual and surprising. Its glorious location by the lake, the felicitous architecture (Günter Behmisch), but most of all the variety of the Lothar Günther Buchheim's collections have turned the museum by Lake Starnberg into a crowd puller: It's just as enjoyable for art connoisseurs as it is for young people or families. The collections are quite diversified, inviting visitors to explore its riches. The wide span covers "Circus Buffi" with its colorful toy figures as well as African masks and sculptures, Asian art, sculptures and paintings by amateur artists, Bohemian stained glass paintings, Expressionists and much more.

The core of the collection are certainly the famous paintings and pieces of graphic art by the Expressionists, especially those of the group "Brücke", formed in Dresden in 1905. The forceful, intensely colorful painting by that group with its members Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Max Pechstein, Emil Nolde, and Otto Mueller marks the beginning of Modernism in Germany. But mavericks like Max Beckmann are also displayed here with generous selection from their art. Otto Dix and other artists of a later generation of Expressionists reflect their experiences in World War I in their art, as well as life in the 1920s. A visit to the Buchheim Museum is well worth a whole day's time. The park around the museum, with its enchanting ponds and its ancient groves is worth a stroll, too, as is Bernried itself with its idyllic center.