“MUNICH was radiant,” wrote Thomas Mann, a Nobel prize-winning novelist, in 1902. “Art swayed the destinies of the town.” The German city, which rivalled Paris as a magnet for artists in the early 20th century, also swayed the destinies of the artists drawn there from as far away as Russia and America.

“慕尼黑是一座光芒四射的城市，”诺贝尔文学奖得主托马斯·曼在1902年这样写道，“她的命运随着艺术的变迁而摇摆。”同样，在20世纪早期，这座堪比巴黎的德国城市也影响了被吸引到这里来的俄美两国艺术家们的命运。