1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

From Ahrenshoop to Murnau – Artists’ Colonies

June 24, 2013

German painters developed a love affair with natural light and nature in the late 19th century, turning Ahrenshoop, Worpswede and Murnau into famous artists’ colonies. The charming villages still inspire artists today.

Ahrenshoop
AhrenshoopImage: DW

When painters rediscovered nature as a source of inspiration, their style became freer and more expressive. Color, light and motion were captured as if in a snapshot. The works, which were very unconventional for their time, awakened the curiosity of many artists, who wanted to see the scenery and places that had inspired the pieces. A group of like-thinking artists founded a colony in Ahrenshoop on the Baltic Sea. Others were drawn to the moors of Worpswede near the North Sea, where they founded an artists’ colony in 1889. And the world-famous "Blaue Reiter" group was drawn to the unique light of Murnau in Bavaria.

From Ahrenshoop to Murnau – Artists’ Colonies

05:43

This browser does not support the video element.

Skip next section DW's Top Story

DW's Top Story

Skip next section More stories from DW