The Liebermann Villa is the former summer residence of the German painter

Max Liebermann Max Liebermann (20 July 1847 – 8 February 1935) was a German painter and printmaker, and one of the leading proponents of Impressionism in Germany and continental Europe. In addition to his activity as an artist, he also assembled an important ...

. It is located directly at the shores of Lake Wannsee in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. It has been open to public since April 30, 2006 and shows a collection of Liebermann's paintings of his

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...

and its garden.

History

Max Liebermann

Max Liebermann (1847–1935) was co-founder and head of the

Berlin Secession The Berlin Secession was an art movement established in Germany on May 2, 1898. Formed in reaction to the Association of Berlin Artists, and the restrictions on contemporary art imposed by Kaiser Wilhelm II, 65 artists "seceded," demonstrating ag ...

and head of the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts (German: ''Preußische Akademie der Künste'') was a state arts academy first established in Berlin, Brandenburg, in 1694/1696 by prince-elector Frederick III, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and late ...

(''Preußische Akademie der Künste''). He was dismissed by the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

s in 1933 and banned. He painted about 200 paintings of the garden at his villa, some of which are exhibited in his former studio on the upper floor.

Villa

In 1909, he bought a narrow piece of land with direct access to the shores of Lake Wannsee to escape from the city noise of Berlin. He lived there during the summer, from 1910 on. The villa was built by the architect Paul Otto Baumgarten. Liebermann called it his "little castle by the lake". It was completed in April, 1910.

Garden

The lengthy garden is divided in two by the villa itself. From the center of the villa, there is a view over the grass to Lake Wannsee. There is a garden terrace in front of the house, looking toward Wannsee. On one side of the grass, there is the famous

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...

path, with birch trees growing wherever they sprout. On the other side, there are three hedged gardens. In the rear of the villa, is the garden house and a vegetable plot.

Museum

Permanent exhibition

In the former studio, on the upper floor, there are about 40 paintings related to the garden and the villa. On the ground floor, the history of the Liebermann family and the house are documented, including of how the Nazis forced Liebermann's wife, Martha to sell the villa. The selling price was highly undervalued and in the end, she didn't even get that. Hours before she was due to be deported to

Theresienstadt concentration camp Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination ca ...

, she committed suicide rather than risk death at the hands of the Nazis.

Museum's concept

The Max-Liebermann-Gesellschaft Berlin e. V. assists the museum in care of the villa and garden and in restoring them to their original state at the time of the Liebermanns' occupancy. Paintings of the garden and villa are presented continuously. A Multimedia Installation by

Heiko Daxl Heiko Daxl (21 September 1957 – 21 May 2012) was a German media artist, exhibition curator, art gallery owner and design / art collector. Born in Oldenburg, Germany, he lived and worked in Berlin and Zagreb. Life Until 1976 he grew up i ...

and

Ingeborg Fülepp Ingeborg Fülepp, born in (Zagreb, Croatia) is a Croatian artist, university teacher, curator and film editor. Life She studied film editing and film analysis at the Academy for Theatre, Film and Television at the University of Zagreb and later ...

opens a broader view with historical documents, photographs, sound recordings and films into the 100 years turbulent history of the house and the garden. Visitors can experience the serenity and spirit of the villa as Liebermann did when he lived and painted there."Max Liebermann Villa am Wannsee Berlin" in ''Die Neuen Architekturführer'', No. 82. 20-page broschure about the museum. Stadtwandel Verlag, Berlin (2006)

References

Bibliography

* Nina Nedelykov, Pedro Moreira (eds.): ''Zurück am Wannsee. Max Liebermanns Sommerhaus''. Transit Buchverlag: Berlin 2003; * Ingo Krüger, ''Landhäuser und Villen in Berlin & Potsdam - Nr. 3: Großer Wannsee, Colonie Alsen, Villa Liebermann''. Delmenhorst: Aschenbeck & Holstein (2005)

External links

*(de
Website of Max-Liebermann-Gesellschaft
{{authority control Museums in Berlin Buildings and structures in Steglitz-Zehlendorf Historic house museums in Germany Art museums and galleries in Berlin Biographical museums in Germany Art museums established in 2006 2006 establishments in Germany Villas in Germany Houses in Berlin Liebermann Max Liebermann