Marcel Duchamp: See the Impossible 29. März 2019 -26. Mai 2019
The exhibition is based on the Schweriner Duchamp collection which contains 91 works. It begins with early works like the caricatures Duchamp created before he quit conventional painting in 1912. A highlight of his life as an artist are the so called Ready mades that are counted among some of his most famous pieces today. He turned everyday objects into art and by choosing inspiring titles he enabled new imaginative dimensions for the viewer to maybe see the impossible. To this day Marcel Duchamps art inspires many contemporary artists like John Cage, Marcel Broodthaers, Nam June Paik, Ben Vautier, A K Dolven and Werner Reiterer. A selection of their works is being shown in the exhibition.
Hot Printing. Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman (1882-1945) 30 November 2018 – 24 February 2019
In the Netherlands, Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman is revered as not only an icon of resistance but also an important protagonist of modernism best known for his experimental prints. The exhibition of the the Staatliches Museum Schwerin aims to bring the artist’s life and work back into public view in Germany by exploring his influence on contemporary artists and his reception in the Netherlands and Germany in the first post-war decades.
The exhibition aims to present an overview of Werkman’s entire oeuvre. However, the focus will be on his printing experiments. In addition, the exhibition will include a small printmaking workshop where visitors can create their own prints.
Beyond the Horizon... Art of the GDR from the collections of the Staatliches Museum Schwerin 6. July 2018 - 7. October 2018
The Staatliches Museum Schwerin is exhibiting a selection of 120 pieces from its collection of art of the GDR. The exhibition reveals new perspectives that went beyond the prescribed art of the state, and focuses on the soft yet critical voices. In their resistance to ideological demands, traditional genres such as portraiture, landscapes and still life enabled an unexpected view of reality in the GDR. The tension between intimacy and ideology gave rise to a specific aesthetic language that went beyond the stereotypes of Socialist Realism. Actions and performances were a special means of expression for this. A selection of pieces from the Schwerin Mail Art archives shows how artists maintained a cross-border connection to the world. A richly-illustrated catalogue in German and English is available in our shop.
View of Potsdam – Prussian vedutas for Friedrich Franz I., Duke of Mecklenburg 13 April – 2 July 2018 Cabinet exhibition
Aim of the cabinet exhibitions is a presentation of works which are rarely shown. This is especially the case for works on paper due to their sensitivity to light. View on Potsdam presents a series of ten coloured etchings of the German city Potsdam. Based on their dimensions and their lively colouring, the prints can compete with paintings by all means.
Places and Events Prints from the Christoph Müller donation 11 january – 8 april 2018
We have become used to the fact that Dutch images usually show fictional scenes. Therefore, it is interesting that a large part are also devoted to real places and events. In 2016 the collector Christoph Müller donated his Dutch prints to the museum in Schwerin. Among the 228 sheets are beautiful examples of the genre, like vedutas of places and interiors, city plans and maps, and representations of fireworks and their decorations.
Treasure Discovered! The long-lost architectural drawings of the Dukes of Mecklenburg 23 March – 10 June 2018
In 2010 the architectural historian Sigrid Puntigam “discovered” a box with about 560, 18th century drawings and prints concerning the architecture of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern at the state library. It was a great surprise as it turned out that the box also included sheets from architects' estates and from building projects elsewhere in Europe.
Intense research conducted into the drawings unveiled a unique panorama of architectural planning and building in Mecklenburg and Europe. The exhibition Treasure Discovered! at the Staatliches Museum Schwerin will highlight this research. It is the first exhibition that gives insight into the architectural ambitions of the Dukes of Mecklenburg before and after 1800. The exhibition concentrates on presenting essential works, including architectural jewels like the palaces in Schwerin, Ludwigslust, Rostock and Bothmer. The relationship between the architects and their commissioners, the Dukes of Mecklenburg, will also be highlighted. The exhibition recounts the history of the drawings and elucidates lost edifices and parks in films, digital reconstructions and models – a must-see for everyone interested in knowing why there are so many castles in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
LAND IN SIGHT Art Purchase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 2 December 2017 – 4 March 2018
Together, the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture and the Staatliche Museum Schwerin present the new acquisitions of the art collection of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. 79 pieces of art from different genres and a wide range of styles like paintings, print graphics, drawings, objects, photographic works and videos by 14 different artists are on display, among them Martha Damus, Jacqueline Duhr, Friedrich Wilhelm Fretwurst, Jörg Hamann, Lars Lehmann, Annette Leyener, Margret Middell, Marcus Schramm, Holger Stark, Wolfgang Tietze, Iris
Thürmer, Sven Ochsenreither, Matthias Wegehaupt and Marc W1353l.
From Beckmann to Jawlensky. The Collection Frank Brabant in Schwerin and Wiesbaden Gallery of Old & New Masters 24 November 2017 – 18 February 2018
Frank Brabant, who was born in 1938 and grew up in Schwerin, became a successful businessman in Wiesbaden and has brought together a considerable art collection in the course of his life. The collection covers the entire 20th century from Max Beckmann and Emil Nolde to Penck, Lüpertz and Jawlensky, however the focus lies on works of Expressionism and New Objectivity.
It all started with a woodcut by Max Pechstein, which Frank Brabant bought from the money he had actually saved for his first VW Beetle. Later, works by Alexej Jawlensky, Lovis Corinth, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, August Macke, Paul Klee, Georg Tappert, Emil Nolde, Otto Dix, Alexander Kanoldt and many others were added. The collection now includes more than 500 works.
Frank Brabant will give his art collection to the Museum Wiesbaden and the Staatliches Museum Schwerin after his death. Nonetheless, the exhibition From Beckmann to Jawlensky will already show the works that will complement the collection of the Schwerin Museum in the future. The Museum Wiesbaden also presents its part of the collection in an exhibition in summer 2018.
The painting is female Friederike Juliane of Lisiewska Gallery of Old & New Masters 21 september - 31 december 2017, Cabinet exhibition
In 2016 the Staatliche Museum acquired a previously unknown self-portrait by Friederike Juliane of Lisiewska (1772-1856). The artist, who spent her youth in Ludwigslust, could study as one of only four women as full member alongside their male colleagues at the Art Academy in Berlin and was exceptional in their time.
Friederike Juliane of Lisiewska descends from a prominent Berlin artist family, where women celebrated successes as painters. The best-known example is Anna Dorothea Therbusch, who manages an international career. Full of energy, Friederike Juliane of Lisiewska began her studies in Berlin. However, the orders and the recognition as a painter was missing her. This is a fate that she shared with many colleagues. Her application to become first female court painters where knocked out by Duke Friedrich Franz I of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
Besides the new acquired self-portrait, the Cabinet exhibition shows a small but fine inventory of the paintings of the artist.
Medusa's Menagerie Otto Marseus van Schrieck and the Scholars Gallery of Old & New Masters 7 July – 15 October 2017
The exhibition presents the creator of the "Forest Floor Still Life" for the first time ever within the context of his contemporaries. Not only does the event mediate upon the beauty of still lifes, it also reveals the fascination with the dark, the hidden and the eerie.
Doing so, the intention is to rediscover the forgotten ties between art and the sciences at that time. The 17th century experienced an epochal change, one in which bookish scholarship would lead to the empirically researched natural sciences, thus creating the foundation for our world view today. It was the century of the microscope. Unknown visual worlds and objects never seen by humans up to then demanded representation. Therefore, artists belonged to the inner circles of science.
In his works, Otto Marseus van Schrieck depicted mushrooms, insects and spiders, amphibians and reptiles – and especially snakes. All of these plants and animals were the subject of intensive study during his life, with famous scholars such as Jan Swammerdam explicitly referring to observations by his friend Marseus.
Cranach's Luther! Work by the Cranach family 20 May – 24 September 2017 Güstrow Palace
In the year of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, the Staatliches Museum Schwerin/Ludwigslust/Güstrow shows an exhibition on Lucas Cranach the Elder and Lucas Cranach the Younger.
The dynasty of painters from Wittenberg were in close contact with reformers like Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchton and captured the events of their time in paintings and graphics. Both artists were considered “painters of the Reformation” and coined the image of Luther to this day. On display are drawings of the altarpiece of the Stadtkirche Wittenberg as well as 16 printed graphics, which were of central importance for the promotion of the ideas of the Reformation. In the centre of the exhibition are 13 paintings of the Cranachs, that enable a sample through the work of the painters. Cranach Luther! is accompanied by the interactive exhibition Pop up Cranach.
This project by Alice – Museum for Children at the FEZ Berlin (in cooperation with the Luther Memorials Foundation of Saxony Anhalt) was shown in the National Museums in Berlin in 2014/15 and is sponsored by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the Capital Cultural Fund. Children and pupils are invited to discover and explore the works of art and the life of the painter’s family in a playful way and get creative. Due to the great success, "Pop up Cranach" has been shown in several cities in Germany.
The Black Art Albrecht Dürer’s wood and copper engravings 11 May – 17 September 2017, Cabinet exhibition Gallery of Old & New Masters
Albrecht Dürer (1471 - 1528) is one of the most important artists of the 15th century as well as one of the best known personalities of German art history. We all have probably come in contact with the Young Hare or Dürer’s self-portraits. But he was not only a true artist in his drawings and paintings, even his wood and copper engravings enchant their viewers again and again.
Various motifs can be found in his work. In 1497 he worked independently in Nuremberg, his home town, and started taking mainly assignments for portraits. Later investigations and studies followed to the human proportions, mathematics as well as the measurement and representation of space and country. From the 13th of July the exhibition of Dürer devotes itself to religious motives which is an important aspect in Dürer's oeuvre and an important component of the museum.
A Mecklenburgian in Rome Ferdinand Ruschewehy – A Rediscovery Gallery of Old & New Masters 2 February - 7 May 2017, Cabinet exhibition
In 2016 the Staatliche Museum acquired the estate of Ferdinand Ruscheweyh (1785-1846): including a self-portrait, an autobiography and eight sketchbooks with travel experiences and vedute from Italy.This considerable purchase enables a comprehensive re-evaluation of the artist's work and is presented together with a selection of Ruscheweyh's prints available in the Schwerin print cabinet for the first time.
Ferdinand Ruscheweyh was one of the most important engravers of replicas of a group of artists called Nazarenes. This German-speaking artist circle went to Italy around 1800 to reform art in Rome. Born in Neustrelitz, Ruscheweyh studied in Berlin and Vienna and travelled to Rome in 1808 where he lived for 24 years.
By the Power of a New Beginning. Ludwigslust in images by court painter Johann Dietrich Findorff Gallery of Old & New Masters 27 October 2016 until 2 February 2017, showcase exhibition
In the years between 1765 and 1770, the court painter Johann Dietrich Findorff made prints of Ludwigslust, documenting the reconstruction of the village Klenow into the new residence Ludwigslust. Forty kilometres away from Schwerin in a surrounding of deep forests and hunting areas, a summer residence was build which is today surrounded by a large park. The rural location was a favourite place of the Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Although Findorff did not witnessed the completion of the new building as he died in 1772, his etchings reflect the hoped of the court for a new beginning after the Seven Years' War.
Dialogue. Horst Hirsig and Rolf Kuhrt Güstrow Palace 4 June until 4 September 2016
The dialogical juxtaposition of the two artists reveals an astounding intellectual and artistic affinity. They are represented in the exhibition with pictures and works on paper, supplemented with sculptures and statuary from Rolf Kuhrt. Together, the two artists represent a generation which has repeatedly confronted and analysed the issue of the causes of violence, together with the hope of surmounting them. In this regard however they share an artistic approach: art itself.
Out of Control! Colour Prints & Mail Art in the GDR Gallery of Old & New Masters | Güstrow Palace 20 November 2015 until 14 February 2016
In East Germany, the print was a refuge of the arts and at the same time a medium of freedom. Their high quality and enormous popularity was due both to the outstanding artists involved and the idiosyncrasies of the art system. The exhibition Out of Control! Colour Prints and Mail Art in East Germany reveals this artistic diversity and eagerness to experiment.
The Gallery of Old & New Masters will present one focus of its collections: colour prints. The exhibition continues at Palace Güstrow with art forms that cross boundaries such as mail art and performance art.
From the Art Collection of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Güstrow Palace 11 July until 4 October 2015
For the 25th anniversary of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a selection of paintings, works on paper, sculptures, objects, installations and media art from the extensive collection of the federated state is presented. These are works from the 1980s as well as today. The exhibition provides an overview of three decades of artistic work in the region.
Kaleidoscope of Modernism. Chagall, Miró, Picasso and the Avant-garde Gallery of Old & New Masters 10 July until 18 October 2015
Chagall, Miró, Picasso, Giacometti, Lichtenstein, Rothko or Fontana – the photographer Eddy Novarro (c. 1925 – 2003) knew the great artists of his time. They all stood in front of his camera in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Sitters thanked him by giving artworks of their own – often with personal dedication – in return. The collection of works includes drawings, paintings and sculptures ranging from Modernism,
Investment: Art Güstrow Palace 6 March until 31 May 2015
The exhibition presents a selection of photographic works acquired by the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern between 1994 and 2014 – classic black and white photographs as well as experimental work on the border of painting, created during the last 30 years.
Passage to India Gallery of Old & New Masters 27 February until 14 June 2015
Owing to India’s countless different faces, everyone experiences the country differently. Accordingly, perceptions of India vary greatly, a fact that is also reflected in contemporary art. The exhibition, which has been named after the title of Forster’s novel, will embark on a search for India and use artistic works to highlight various facets of the country.
It shows works from Indian and German artists. The comparison of European and Asian views on India makes up the allure of the project. Artists like Sakshi Gupta, Alf Löhr, Renate Graf, Sudarshan Shetty and Thomas Florschuetz take the viewer on a visual journey and show everyday life as well as unexpected.
SECURED! Art for the country Gallery of Old & New Masters 5 December 2014 until 12 April 2015
Finally secured! After years of negotiation many pieces of art (many deriving from Ludwigslust Palace) from the collection Herzogliches Haus Mecklenburg-Schwerin could be secured for Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The exhibition SECURED! Art for the country in the Gallery Old & New Masters provides an overview of the collection, which was acquired in cooperation with the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the Kulturstiftung der Länder and the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The works of art that were in the possession of the ducal family until the disseisin after the Second World War, are an essential and unique part of the cultural heritage of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and reflect many facets of its cultural identity.
LAND IN SIGHT Art Purchase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Palace Güstrow 25 October 2014 until 4 January 2015
Art Looting | Looted Art Gallery of Old & New Masters 24 October 2014 until 1 February 2015
The labyrinth of legitimate loot, the illegitimate looting of art during the last wars, or the traces of state-sponsored of individual theft – high-calibre masterpieces in today's Staatliches Museum Schwerin conceal unseen secrets.
In 1807 more than 200 masterpieces were confiscated, and transported from Schwerin to Paris following Napoleon’s aim to establish a central museum of Europe representing the power, political strength, and military predominance of the Emperor Napoleon. During World War II, the Nazi Party organized art looting on a hitherto unsighted, and unknown scale. Some of the stolen pieces found their way back, and can be seen in the exhibition ART LOOTING | LOOTED ART.
Expressionistic Encounter. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner – Jan Wiegers Gallery of Old & New Masters 5 July until 28 September 2014
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner is considered one of the most important artists in German Expressionism. At the age of 25 he founded the artists´group Die Brücke (The Bridge) together with Fritz Bleyl, Erich Heckel and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. The artists strove in their works for pure expression. In 1920 the Dutch painter Jan Wiegers met Kirchner in Davos and became his first student. Now works of Kirchner and Wiegers face each other in Germany for the first time. The exhibition is a joint project of Staatliches Museum Schwerin, Saarlandmuseum Saarbrücken and Groninger Museum.
In this Country. Paintings from the north of the GDR Palace Güstrow 12 April until 31 August 2014
The Revolution of the Romantics. FLUXUS made in USA Gallery of Old & New Masters 14 March until 9 June 2014
For the first time, Romantics and Fluxus are joined in one exhibition. The artists of the Romantic era had the intention to free themselves from the dictate of reason and the advancing rationalization processes of the beginning modern age. Fluxus was an avant-garde movement of the early 1960´s that attempted to change the world of art and politics. What both art movements had in common was to criticize the social status and to express the idea of freedom through their art. The exhibition shows the influence of the historical Romanticists in the updated and nem Romantic concept of the American Fluxus movement.
Ulrich Puritz [& Friends]: Prinzip Wolke Castle Güstrow 16. November 2013 until19. January 2014
Cosmos of the Netherlands. The Christoph Müller Donation Gallery of Old & New Masters 11 October 2013 until 16 February 2014
Regarding its themes, genres and artist names the collection of Christoph Müller presents a perfect addition to the collection of the Staatliches Museum Schwerin. It exclusively involves Flemish and Dutch works from the 16th to 18th centuries. Müller established his collection over a time of 25 years and acquired a remarkable connoisseurship and an excellent judgement.
Gleaming from the Deep. Shells / Pearls / Nautilus Gallery of Old & New Masters 14 June until 15 September 2013
For hundreds of years humans are fascinated by the brilliance of nacre. Beside the visual attraction pearls, shells and snails stand for the European exploration of the world in the Renaissance. This exhibition displays shells, pearls and nacre as representative objects from royal clients: as ornaments of weapons, precious furniture or splendorous cups next to ebony, gem stones, gold and silver. Based on the collection which originated from the ducal sense of art, this exhibition presents a number of objects which were only restored for this project.
Back to Modernism. Paintings from Dresden Palace Güstrow 23 March until 25 August 2013
Knut Wolfgang Maron. A LIFE Gallery of Old & New Masters 21 February until 19 May 2013
For his series A LIFE, Knut Wolfgang Maron – who studied at the Folkwang University of the Arts Essen – accompanied his mother with his camera in the final years of her life. The result was a range of moving photographs, which are now being presented to the public for the first time ever in an exhibition and catalogue. The personal yet objective manner in which the subject is approached in the photos represents a unique contribution to the socially relevant issues of demographic change, growing old and coping with frailty, fragility and death. The exhibition in Schwerin is enriched by two further series consisting of landscape pictures and “profane and holy” images.
