The Museum Wiesbaden is a two-branch museum of art and natural history in the Hessian capital of

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

, Germany. It is one of the three Hessian State museums, in addition to the museums in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

and

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the fourth largest city in the state of Hesse ...

History

The foundation of the originally three museums traces back to the citizens of the city and to

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

, who stayed in Wiesbaden in 1814/1815 for a rehabilitation measure, and worked hard to establish such a cultural institution. In 1825 he persuaded the Frankfurter private collector to donate his extensive collections of works of art,

antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the Meso ...

and

in kind The term in kind (or in-kind) generally refers to goods, services, and transactions not involving money or not measured in monetary terms. It is a part of many spheres, mainly economics, finance, but also politics, work career, food, health and othe ...

to the

Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what is now the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine and later of the G ...

in return for the payment of an

annuity In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals.Kellison, Stephen G. (1970). ''The Theory of Interest''. Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc. p. 45 Examples of annuities are regular deposits to a savings account, ...

for life. Under the responsibility of the newly founded associations, but controlled by the

ducal Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

government, the citizens of Wiesbaden and the region were able to quickly expand these collections. Together with the pieces of the ("Association for Nassauian Antiquity and Historical Research") founded in 1812, three originally independent museums emerged. In addition to the ''Verein für Nassauische Altertumskunde und Geschichtsforschung'' the ("Nassau Society of Natural Science)" and the ("Nassau Kunstverein") (art society) were responsible for these museums. Following the death of the Duke, the Hereditary Prince's Palace at

Wilhelmstraße Wilhelmstrasse (german: Wilhelmstraße, see ß) is a major thoroughfare in the central Mitte and Kreuzberg districts of Berlin, Germany. Until 1945, it was recognised as the centre of the government, first of the Kingdom of Prussia, later of ...

, built for his son, was now available for other purposes. In contrast to other cities, at a very early stage it was possible to find rooms for the cultural assets collected by the

citizenry Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

. In 1821 the three museums and the

regional library This is a list of the state libraries (german: Landesbibliothek) for each of the Länder of the Federal Republic of Germany. These libraries hold the right for legal deposit for the publications in their respective state. Landesbibliothek ...

of Hessen were thus able to move into the palace, which is nowadays the seat of the

Chamber of Commerce and Industry A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

of Wiesbaden. Around the middle of the 19th century the building became too small, due to the busy collection activities and new acquisitions. The call for a new building became louder and louder. After the three museums came under Prussian control in 1866, the city of Wiesbaden took over these institutions in 1899. This change was generally accepted because Wiesbaden had sufficient funds at the end of the 19th century to promote culture. According to plans by architect Theodor Fischer, the foundation stone for a new building with three wings was laid at the corner of Wilhelmstraße/Rheinstraße in 1913. Previously, the banker's mansion Mons had stood there, in which the reception building of Ludwigsbahnhof was housed until 1906. The interior design of the three houses was influenced to a large extent by the three directors and the curators, as there were different needs. The first to open was the ''Gemäldegalerie'' on October 1, 1915. In the same year the ''Natural Sciences Collection'' was also able to move into the new building, but it was not until after the end of the First World War that the ''Natural Sciences Museum'' and the ''Museum of Nassau Antiquities'' reopened on 15 July 1920. Half of the picture gallery was to be used for changing exhibitions, which were carried out by the ''Nassauischer Kunstverein'' in the 1920s and early 1930s. During this time, citizens of Wiesbaden also contributed to important additions to the collections. The natural science collections showed systematic exhibitions on topics of

geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other Astronomical object, astronomical objects, the features or rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology ...

paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

and

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

. Ecological aspects were also presented for the first time. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the building was partly used for military purposes. With few exceptions, the collections survived the war unscathed. However, the exhibitions were dismantled and most of the showcases were damaged. Only slowly the rooms were able to regain their original function after renovation. This delay had another reason: the

Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...

, who moved to Wiesbaden after 1945, turned the museum into a Central Collecting Point. Temporarily stored art treasures were shown, such as the

bust of Nefertiti The Nefertiti Bust is a painted stucco-coated limestone bust of Nefertiti, the Great Royal Wife of Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten. The work is believed to have been crafted in by Thutmose because it was found in his workshop in Amarna, Egypt. It i ...

or the painting The Man with the Golden Helmet, which was attributed to Rembrandt at the time. After their return, a collection was rebuilt from the 1950s onwards with very few resources. Clemens Weiler played a major role in the construction of the

Alexej von Jawlensky Alexej Georgewitsch von Jawlensky (russian: Алексе́й Гео́ргиевич Явле́нский, translit=Alekséy Geórgiyevich Yavlénskiy) (13 March 1864 – 15 March 1941), surname also spelt as Yavlensky, was a Russian expression ...

-Collection, which is today the most important collection of the house. The Natural Science Museum was largely rebuilt by Friedrich Heineck, who was impeached of office during the war. It was the aim of the museum to show in particular info on the

biome A biome () is a biogeographical unit consisting of a biological community that has formed in response to the physical environment in which they are found and a shared regional climate. Biomes may span more than one continent. Biome is a broader ...

s in the exhibitions. The reconstruction was not entirely successful, partly because rooms were still being used by other people (e. g. by an American library and an urban archive). In 1973 the three museums came into the possession of the state of Hesse. Since that time they have been united in a three-division house, the Museum Wiesbaden. The ("Nassau Kunstverein"), which had previously been housed in the museum, was moved to the historic villa on

15 in the immediate vicinity. Since 2010 Alexander Klar has been director of the museum. He succeeds Volker Rattemeyer, who ran the museum for 23 years. Under his leadership, in 2007 it was elected by the

International Association of Art Critics The International Association of Art Critics (''Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art'', ''AICA'') was founded in 1950 to revitalize critical discourse, which suffered under Fascism during World War II. Affiliated with UNESCO AICA was ad ...

(Association Internationale des Critiques d' Art (AICA)) as ''Museum of the Year''. From 1994 to 1997, the Kassel architects Schultze and Schulze completely renovated the rooms of the art collection, from 2003 to 2006 the roofs, the entrance area and the lecture hall and opened up new exhibition rooms of the art collection. From 2007 to 2012, the north and south wings were to be renovated. In the north wing, the natural history collection can be shown again from 2013 onwards. According to press reports and reports from the state government, the collection of Nassauian antiquities SNA was handed over to the city of Wiesbaden in 2009. The Old Masters are to be shown in the freed south wing. From 1994 to 1997, the Kassel architects Schultze and Schulze completely renovated the rooms of the art collection, from 2003 to 2006 the roofs, the entrance area and the lecture hall and opened up new exhibition rooms of the art collection. From 2007 to 2012, the north and south wings were renovated. Since 2013, the natural history collection is now on show in the north wing. The ''Collection of Nassau Antiquities'' is now shown at the ''Stadtmuseum am Markt'' in Wiesbaden. In the freed south wing, the

Old Masters In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

are presented in connection with contemporary art The chronological sequence was abandoned in favour of spaces on the themes "religion", "portrait", "mythology", "still life" and "landscape".

Art collection

The museum's art collection dates back to the former collection of Johann Isaak von Gerning from Frankfurt. Through purchases, donations and loans, the art collection has become one of the most important in Germany, especially in the area of the 19th and 20th centuries. The Museum Wiesbaden endeavours to identify

Nazi plunder Nazi plunder (german: Raubkunst) was the stealing of art and other items which occurred as a result of the organized looting of European countries during the time of the Nazi Party in Germany. The looting of Polish and Jewish property was a k ...

in its own collection and, if necessary, to return it to the legitimate heirs. In October 2014, the museum therefore launched a spectacular campaign entitled ''Wiesbaden schafft die Wende!'' ("Wiesbaden is making the turn!") The painting ''Die Labung'' by

Hans von Marées Hans von Marées (24 December 1837 – 5 June 1887) was a German painter. Initially specialising in portraiture he later turned to mythological subjects. He spent the last years of his life in Italy. Life Marées was born into a banking family ...

, stolen by the

Nazi regime Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in 1935, came into the possession of the museum in 1980. It was still shown in the context of this action, but only the reverse of the painting. It was not until the beginning of November, by which time donations had already raised enough money for the now legitimate purchase, that the painting could be turned back.

Sculptures

Sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

s do not play a significant role in the art collection of the Museum Wiesbaden. However, some interesting works are represented. French sculpture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries is presented with a work by one of its main representatives, Aristide Maillol's ''Badende''. The German sculptors of the first half of the 20th century are represented by

Max Klinger Max Klinger (18 February 1857 – 5 July 1920) was a German artist who produced significant work in painting, sculpture, prints and graphics, as well as writing a treatise articulating his ideas on art and the role of graphic arts and printmak ...

(portrait bust of

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

, ca. 1910), Franz von Stuck, Georg Kolbe,

Wilhelm Lehmbruck Wilhelm Lehmbruck (4 January 188125 March 1919) was a German sculptor. Biography Born in Meiderich (part of Duisburg from 1905), he was the fourth of eight children born to the miner Wilhelm Lehmbruck and his wife Margaretha. He was able to stu ...

, Gerhard Marcks, Emy Roeder and Ernst Barlach (Der Tod, 1925).

Graphic art

Compared to the collection of paintings, the graphic art collection is less important. Work before 1800 is scarce. In the 19th century, on the other hand, there are a number of works by

Ludwig Knaus Ludwig Knaus (5 October 1829 – 7 December 1910) was a German genre painter of the younger 7 Düsseldorf school of painting. Biography He was born at Wiesbaden and studied from 1845 to 1852 under Sohn and Schadow in Düsseldorf. His early ...

Arnold Böcklin Arnold Böcklin (16 October 182716 January 1901) was a Swiss symbolist painter. Biography He was born in Basel. His father, Christian Frederick Böcklin (b. 1802), was descended from an old family of Schaffhausen, and engaged in the silk trade ...

and

Max Slevogt Max Slevogt (8 October 1868 – 20 September 1932) was a German Impressionist painter and illustrator, best known for his landscapes. He was, together with Lovis Corinth and Max Liebermann, one of the foremost representatives in Germany of t ...

, among others. In the first half of the 20th century, the

expressionists Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radi ...

stand out, especially

(see

-Collection, excellently represented with drawings,

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas tha ...

s and Lithographs). These include works by Die Brücke-artists such as

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (6 May 1880 – 15 June 1938) was a German expressionist painter and printmaker and one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expressionism in 20th-century ...

Erich Heckel Erich Heckel (31 July 1883 – 27 January 1970) was a German painter and printmaker, and a founding member of the group '' Die Brücke'' ("The Bridge") which existed 1905–1913. His work was part of the art competitions at the 1928 Summer Ol ...

and

Karl Schmidt-Rottluff Karl Schmidt-Rottluff (Karl Schmidt until 1905; 1 December 1884 – 10 August 1976) was a German expressionist painter and printmaker; he was one of the four founders of the artist group Die Brücke. Life and work Schmidt-Rottluff was born in Ro ...

, as well as works by the artists of the Blaue Reiter-Editorial Association. Of particular note are works by

Franz Marc Franz Moritz Wilhelm Marc (8 February 1880 – 4 March 1916) was a German painter and printmaker, one of the key figures of German Expressionism. He was a founding member of '' Der Blaue Reiter'' (The Blue Rider), a journal whose name later ...

August Macke August Robert Ludwig Macke (3 January 1887 – 26 September 1914) was a German Expressionist painter. He was one of the leading members of the German Expressionist group Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider). He lived during a particularly act ...

and above all Wassily Kandinsky's watercolour ''Allerheiligen'' ("All Saints", 1910) from the collection of

Hanna Bekker vom Rath Hanna Bekker vom Rath (maiden name, née vom Rath; 7 September 18938 August 1983) was a German painter, collector, patron and gallerist. Personal life Hanna vom Rath, born in Frankfurt, Germany married the music critic Paul Bekker (1882–1937) ...

. Works by other artists of the time, such as

Edvard Munch Edvard Munch ( , ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His best known work, '' The Scream'' (1893), has become one of Western art's most iconic images. His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the d ...

Otto Dix Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix (; 2 December 1891 – 25 July 1969) was a German painter and printmaker, noted for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of German society during the Weimar Republic and the brutality of war. Along with George ...

Oskar Kokoschka Oskar Kokoschka (1 March 1886 – 22 February 1980) was an Austrian artist, poet, playwright, and teacher best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes, as well as his theories on vision that influenced the Viennese Expres ...

Käthe Kollwitz Käthe Kollwitz ( born as Schmidt; 8 July 1867 – 22 April 1945) was a German artist who worked with painting, printmaking (including etching, lithography and woodcuts) and sculpture. Her most famous art cycles, including ''The Weavers'' a ...

and

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

, can also be found. Constructivist works, including those by

László Moholy-Nagy László Moholy-Nagy (; ; born László Weisz; July 20, 1895 – November 24, 1946) was a Hungarian painter and photographer as well as a professor in the Bauhaus school. He was highly influenced by constructivism and a strong advocate of the ...

, the artist couple Robert Michel and

Ella Bergmann-Michel Ella Bergmann-Michel (20 October 1896 – 8 August 1971) was a German abstract artist, photographer and documentary filmmaker. An early student of constructivist art in Germany, her contributions to modern abstract art are often forgotten in Ame ...

, as well as

Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart Friedrich Vordemberge-Gildewart (November 17, 1899, Osnabrück, Germany – December 19, 1962, Ulm) was a German Neo-plasticist (De Stijl) painter. He was one of the first painters to work for his entire career within an abstract style. Li ...

, form another focal point of the collection. The graphic art collection after 1945 is extensive, which is why only a few names are mentioned here.

Informalism Informalism or Art Informel is a pictorial movement from the 1943–1950s, that includes all the abstract and gestural tendencies that developed in France and the rest of Europe during the World War II, similar to American abstract expression ...

is represented by works by

Karl Otto Götz Karl Otto Götz (22 February 1914 – 19 August 2017) often simply called K.O. Götz, was a German artist, filmmaker, draughtsman, printmaker, writer and professor of art at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. He was one of the oldest living and a ...

, Otto Greis and

Bernard Schultze Bernard Schultze (31 May 1915 in Schneidemühl, now Piła, Poland – 14 April 2005 in Cologne) was a German abstract painter who co-founded the Quadriga group of artists along with Karl Otto Götz and two other artists. On 7 July 1955 he married ...

. Further sheets from the 1940s and 1950s come from Willi Baumeister,

HAP Grieshaber Helmut Andreas Paul Grieshaber or HAP Grieshaber (15 February 1909 – 12 May 1981) was a German artist. His preferred medium was large format woodcuts. Biography Grieshaber was born in Rot an der Rot. He went to school in Nagold and later in R ...

and above all from the extensive

Ernst Wilhelm Nay Ernst Wilhelm Nay (June 11, 1902 – April 8, 1968) was a German painter and graphic designer of classical modernism. He is considered one of the most important painters of German post-war art. Biography Nay came from a Berlin civil servant ...

collection. Minimalist tendencies are shown in the works of

Sol LeWitt Solomon "Sol" LeWitt (September 9, 1928 – April 8, 2007) was an American artist linked to various movements, including conceptual art and minimalism. LeWitt came to fame in the late 1960s with his wall drawings and "structures" (a term he pref ...

. Pop art is represented by Thomas Bayrle, among others.

Old Masters

Compared to the 19th and 20th century collections, the

Old Masters In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

are rarely represented in the museum. The focus is on Italian and Dutch artists from the 15th century onwards. The most important Italians are

Prospero Fontana Prospero Fontana (1512–1597) was a Bolognese painter of late Renaissance and Mannerist art. He is perhaps best known for his frescoes and architectural detailing. The speed in which he completed paintings earned him commissions where he work ...

Albertino Piazza Alberto or Albertino Piazza (1490–1528) was an Italian painter. He was born and died in Lodi, Lombardy Lodi ( , ; Ludesan: ) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, northern Italy, primarily on the western bank of the River Adda. It is the ...

(''Heimsuchung Mariae'', "Visitation of Mary")),

Domenico Tintoretto Domenico Robusti, also known as Domenico Tintoretto, (1560 – 17 May 1635) was an Italian painter from Venice. He grew up under the tutelage of his father, the renowned painter Jacopo Tintoretto. Life Apprenticeship Domenico was born in V ...

Marietta Robusti Marietta Robusti (1560? – 1590) was a Venetian painter of the Renaissance period. She was the daughter of Tintoretto and is sometimes referred to as ''Tintoretta''. Biography The only known primary source for details of Marietta Robusti's lif ...

Sebastiano del Piombo Sebastiano del Piombo (; c. 1485 – 21 June 1547) was an Italian painter of the High Renaissance and early Mannerist periods famous as the only major artist of the period to combine the colouring of the Venetian school in which he was trained ...

Alessandro Rosi Alessandro Rosi (28 December 1627 in – 19 April 1697 in Florence) was an Italian artist, working during the Baroque period, for the Medicis and other patrons. Biography Rosi trained in the workshops of Jacopo Vignali and Cesare Dandin ...

Luca Giordano Luca Giordano (18 October 1634 – 3 January 1705) was an Italian late-Baroque painter and printmaker in etching. Fluent and decorative, he worked successfully in Naples and Rome, Florence, and Venice, before spending a decade in Spain. Earl ...

Francesco Solimena Francesco Solimena (4 October 1657 – 3 April 1747) was a prolific Italian painter of the Baroque era, one of an established family of painters and draughtsmen. Biography Francesco Solimena was born in Canale di Serino in the province of ...

Sebastiano Ricci Sebastiano Ricci (1 August 165915 May 1734) was an Italian painter of the late Baroque school of Venice. About the same age as Piazzetta, and an elder contemporary of Tiepolo, he represents a late version of the vigorous and luminous Cortonesq ...

Cristoforo Munari Cristoforo Munari (July 21, 1667 – June 3, 1720) was an Italian painter in the Baroque period specializing in still life paintings. He was also known as ''Cristofano Monari''. His initial training was in Reggio Emilia, his birthplace, and he c ...

and Gennaro Greco.

Dutch painting Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People ...

is represented by artists such as

Joos van Cleve Joos van Cleve (; also Joos van der Beke; c. 1485–1490 – 1540/1541) was a leading painter active in Antwerp from his arrival there around 1511 until his death in 1540 or 1541. Within Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, he combines the tr ...

(''Christuskind mit Weintraube'', "Christ Child with Grape"), Albrecht Bouts,

Otto van Veen Otto van Veen, also known by his Latinized name Otto Venius or Octavius Vaenius (1556 – 6 May 1629), was a painter, draughtsman, and humanist active primarily in Antwerp and Brussels in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He is known for ...

, Joos de Momper,

Frans Floris Frans Floris, Frans Floris the Elder or Frans Floris de Vriendt (17 April 15191 October 1570) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, print artist and tapestry designer. He is mainly known for his history paintings, allegorical scenes and portraits.< ...

Roelant Savery Roelant Savery (or ''Roeland(t) Maertensz Saverij'', or ''de Savery'', or many variants; 1576 – buried 25 February 1639) was a Flanders-born Dutch Golden Age painter. Life Savery was born in Kortrijk. Like so many other artists, he belonged ...

Gerard van Honthorst Gerard van Honthorst (Dutch: ''Gerrit van Honthorst''; 4 November 1592 – 27 April 1656) was a Dutch Golden Age painter who became known for his depiction of artificially lit scenes, eventually receiving the nickname ''Gherardo delle Notti ...

Willem van de Velde Willem van de Velde the Elder (1610/11 – 13 December 1693) was a Dutch Golden Age seascape painter, who produced many precise drawings of ships and ink paintings of fleets, but later learned to use oil paints like his son. Biography Wi ...

Jan Lievens Jan Lievens (24 October 1607 – 4 June 1674) was a Dutch Golden Age painter who was associated with his close contemporary Rembrandt, a year older, in the early parts of their careers. They shared a birthplace in Leiden, training with Pieter La ...

Frans Snyders Frans Snyders or Frans Snijders (11 November 1579, Antwerp – 19 August 1657, Antwerp) was a Flemish painter of animals, hunting scenes, market scenes and still lifes. He was one of the earliest specialist animaliers and he is credited with ...

(''Stillleben'', "Still life") and

Nicolaes Berchem Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem (1 October 1620 – 18 February 1683) was a highly esteemed and prolific Dutch Golden Age painter of pastoral landscapes, populated with mythological or biblical figures, but also of a number of allegories and genre ...

. Late German

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

and

Renaissance art Renaissance art (1350 – 1620 AD) is the painting, sculpture, and decorative arts of the period of European history known as the Renaissance, which emerged as a distinct style in Italy in about AD 1400, in parallel with developments which occ ...

is represented by the Master of the Heisterbach Altar, the Master of the Holy Family,

Lucas Cranach the Elder Lucas Cranach the Elder (german: Lucas Cranach der Ältere ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is kno ...

, Bartholomew Bruyn the Elder and

Hans Muelich Hans Muelich or Mielich (1516 – 1573), was a German painter and woodcutter. Biography He was born in Munich as the son of the city painter Wolfgang Muelich and studied with Barthel Beham. He is known as a portrait painter and for histor ...

. The German

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

and

Classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthet ...

is represented by Johann Conrad Seekatz and January Zick, Nicolas Treu,

Johann Georg Platzer Johann Georg Platzer (1704–1761) was a prolific Austrian Rococo painter and draughtsman. Life and career Platzer was born in Eppan in the County of Tyrol, and came from a family of painters. He painted primarily historical and mythical scene ...

und

Angelika Kauffmann Maria Anna Angelika Kauffmann ( ; 30 October 1741 – 5 November 1807), usually known in English as Angelica Kauffman, was a Swiss people, Swiss Neoclassicism, Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Remembered prima ...

(''Bildnis Johann Isaak von Gerning'', 1798 – "Portrait of Johann Isaak von Gerning"). English painting is represented by

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

19th-century collection

The 19th century is excellently represented in the collection. Although the great names and French

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passa ...

are missing, a broad overview for this period is guaranteed. With artists such as Wilhelm von Kobell, Carl Morgenstern and Georg Waldmueller, German

genre painting Genre painting (or petit genre), a form of genre art, depicts aspects of everyday life by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities. One common definition of a genre scene is that it shows figures to whom no identity can be attache ...

is particularly well represented.

from Wiesbaden, who at his time was equally important as

Adolph von Menzel Adolph Friedrich Erdmann von Menzel (8 December 18159 February 1905) was a German Realist artist noted for drawings, etchings, and paintings. Along with Caspar David Friedrich, he is considered one of the two most prominent German painters of t ...

, is represented in practically no other museum here. His ''Spaziergang im Tuileriengarten'' ("Walk in the Tuilerie Garden") of around 1855 is an early approach to

, from which he later withdrew. The

Düsseldorf school of painting The Düsseldorf school of painting is a term referring to a group of painters who taught or studied at the Düsseldorf Academy (now the Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf or Düsseldorf State Art Academy) during the 1830s and 1840s, when the A ...

is represented by several works of the brothers

Andreas Achenbach Andreas Achenbach (29 September 1815, Kassel – 1 April 1910, Düsseldorf) was a German landscape and seascape painter in the Romantic style. He is considered to be one of the founders of the Düsseldorf School. His brother, Oswald, was also a ...

and

Oswald Achenbach Oswald Achenbach (; 2 February 18271 February 1905) was a German painter associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. Though little known today, during his lifetime he was counted among the most important landscape painters of Europe. Thr ...

. The ''Deutschrömer'' – German artists and writers who lived in Rome – are represented by

Anselm Feuerbach Anselm Feuerbach (12 September 1829 – 4 January 1880) was a German painter. He was the leading classicist painter of the German 19th-century school. Biography Early life Feuerbach was born at Speyer, the son of the archaeologist Joseph ...

(''Nanna'', 1861),

and

. Karl Friedrich Lessing and

Johann Wilhelm Schirmer Johann Wilhelm Schirmer (5 September 1807 in Jülich – 11 September 1863 in Karlsruhe) was a German landscape artist born in Jülich, within the Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian Duchy of Jülich. Biography Schirmer was started as a student ...

are also featured. Carl Spitzweg (''The Butterflycatcher'', around 1840),

Wilhelm von Kaulbach Wilhelm von Kaulbach (15 October 18057 April 1874) was a German painter, noted mainly as a muralist, but also as a book illustrator. His murals decorate buildings in Munich. He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. Biography ...

Franz von Lenbach Franz Seraph Lenbach, after 1882, Ritter von Lenbach (13 December 1836 – 6 May 1904), was a German painter known primarily for his portraits of prominent personalities from the nobility, the arts, and industry. Because of his standing in society ...

and Franz von Stuck form the counterpart of the Munich School. The ''Leibl-Kreis'' in Munich is represented extensively, especially by Wilhelm Trübner, but also

Hans Thoma Hans Thoma (2 October 1839 – 7 November 1924) was a German painter. Biography Hans Thoma was born on 2 October 1839 in Bernau in the Black Forest, Germany. He was the son of a miller and was trained in the basics of painting by a painter of ...

Carl Schuch Carl Eduard Schuch (30 September 1846 – 13 September 1903) was an Austrian painter, born in Vienna, who spent most of his lifetime outside Austria, in Germany, Italy and France. He painted primarily still lifes and landscapes. From 1865 to ...

and

Otto Scholderer Otto Franz Scholderer (25 January 1834 – 22 January 1902) was a German painter. Life He was born in Frankfurt am Main. On completing his schooling, Scholderer went to the Städel academy of arts in 1849, where he remained until 1851. Amo ...

are present with paintings in the collection. French realism is featured with works by

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and ...

Jean-François Millet Jean-François Millet (; 4 October 1814 – 20 January 1875) was a French artist and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France. Millet is noted for his paintings of peasant farmers and can be categorized as part of the Realism ...

and

Charles-François Daubigny Charles-François Daubigny ( , , ; 15 February 181719 February 1878) was a French painter, one of the members of the Barbizon school, and is considered an important precursor of impressionism. He was also a prolific printmaker, mostly in etch ...

, while Russian realism is represented by a work by the

teacher

Ilya Repin Ilya Yefimovich Repin (russian: Илья Ефимович Репин, translit=Il'ya Yefimovich Repin, p=ˈrʲepʲɪn); fi, Ilja Jefimovitš Repin ( – 29 September 1930) was a Russian painter, born in what is now Ukraine. He became one of the ...

from the Ernst Alfred Aye Collection. The collection of this century ends with the works of the main representatives of German

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 ...

and above all

Lovis Corinth Lovis Corinth (21 July 1858 – 17 July 1925) was a German artist and writer whose mature work as a painter and printmaker realized a synthesis of impressionism and expressionism. Corinth studied in Paris and Munich, joined the Berlin Sec ...

, of whom the museum owns five paintings (''Portrait von Frau Halbe'', 1898) as well as Oskar Moll (''Havelkähne'', 1907) and

Christian Rohlfs Christian Rohlfs (November 22, 1849 – January 8, 1938) was a German painter and printmaker, one of the important representatives of German expressionism. Early life and education He was born in Groß Niendorf, Kreis Segeberg in Prussia ...

Jawlensky-Collection

The works of the Russian artist

, who spent the last twenty years of his life in Wiesbaden, are outstanding in the collection of the Museum Wiesbaden. With 57 paintings and 35 graphics, the museum has the largest collection of this artist besides the

Norton Simon Museum The Norton Simon Museum is an art museum located in Pasadena, California, United States. It was previously known as the Pasadena Art Institute and the Pasadena Art Museum and displays numerous sculptures on its grounds. Overview The Norton Si ...

in Pasadena. The collection includes early works such as ''Stillleben mit Krug und Buch'' ("Still Life with Jug and Book", around 1902), many expressive major works such as ''Dame mit Fächer'' ("Woman with a Fan", 1909), ''Nikita'' (1910) or ''Selbstbildnis'' ("Self-portrait", 1912) and, above all, many works of the paintings in series, such as the variations ''Von Frühling, Glück und Sonne'' ("Of Spring, Happiness and Sun", 1917) or the Abstract Heads created in Wiesbaden as ''Kopf in Rot-Weiß-Gold'' ("Head in Red-White-Gold", 1927) and the meditations as ''Mein Geist wird weiterleben'' ("My Spirit will live on", 1935). Remarkable among the

Still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, bo ...

s is the painting ''Stillleben mit schwarzer Vase'' ("Still Life with Black Vase", 1910) and among the paintings of landscapes by Jawlensky the work ''Blaue Berge'' ("Blue Mountains", 1912). The collection of graphics include

lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

s such as ''Liegender weiblicher Akt''("Lying female nude", 1912) and drawings including ''Konstantinowka mit geneigtem Kopf'' ("Konstantinovka with inclined head", circa 1912). Most recently, the collection has been extended by eleven paintings and three drawings from the Hanna Bekker vom Rath Collection in 1987, including the portrait ''Bildnis Marianne von Werefkin'' ("Portrait of Marianne von Werefkin") from 1906. From September 17, 2021, to March 2022 the museum shows ''Alles! 100 Jahre Jawlensky in Wiesbaden (All! 100 years of Jawlensky in Wiesbaden)'' – an anniversary show celebrating the history of the collection with a complete exhibition of the works of expressionist Alexej von Jawlensky.

Expressionists and the Hanna Bekker vom Rath collection

Even before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the Museum Wiesbaden had an important collection of works by the

Expressionists Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radi ...

. In addition, the collection of the Wiesbaden art collector and patron Heinrich Kirchhoff was regularly exhibited, with which many modernist works could be shown. With the Nazi confiscation campaign under the title Entartete Kunst all modern works of art were removed from the museum, so that one had to start again after the war. High quality works were purchased from

Paula Modersohn-Becker Paula Modersohn-Becker (8 February 1876 – 20 November 1907) was a German Expressionist painter of the late 19th and early 20th century. Her work is noted for its intensity and its blunt, unapologetic humanity, and for the many self-portraits the ...

, Otto Mueller (''Liebespaar'') ("Love Couple", 1925), Emil Nolde, Walter Jacob,

Conrad Felixmüller Conrad Felixmüller (21 May 1897 – 24 March 1977) was a German Expressionism, expressionist painter and printmaker. Born in Dresden as Conrad Felix Müller, he chose Felixmüller as his ''Art-name, nom d'artiste''. Early life and career He a ...

(''Familienbildnis Kirchhoff'', "Kirchhoff family portrait", 1920), Karl Hofer and above all from Jawlensky's companion

Marianne von Werefkin Marianne von Werefkin, born Marianna Vladimirovna Veryovkina ( rus, Мариа́нна Влади́мировна Верёвкина, Marianna Vladimirovna Veryovkina, mərʲɪˈanːə vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvnə vʲɪˈrʲɵfkʲɪnə; – 6 Febr ...

(''Schindelfabrik'', "Schindel Factory", around 1910). In addition, a work of the Russian Natalia Goncharova was acquired. A milestone in the history of the art collection was the acquisition of a large part of the

collection. With this collection, the museum not only received 11 paintings and three drawings by Jawlensky, but also 16 other works of Classical Modernism. Graphics by

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...

and

as well as paintings by

(painting ''Maske vor Buschbockfell, "Mask in front of Buschbockfell", 1913),

Adolf Hölzel Adolf Richard Hölzel (13 May 1853 – 17 October 1934) was a German painter. He began as a Realist, but later became an early promoter of various Modern styles, including Abstractionism. Biography Hölzel was born in Olmütz. His father was ...

, Ida Kerkovius, Willi Baumeister and

have enriched the collection ever since. In addition, there are five paintings by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, among which the painting ''Selbstportrait'' ("Self portrait", 1919), and two paintings by

Max Beckmann Max Carl Friedrich Beckmann (February 12, 1884 – December 27, 1950) was a German painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, and writer. Although he is classified as an Expressionist artist, he rejected both the term and the movement. In the 1920s ...

, including the famous painting ''Weiblicher Akt mit Hund'' ("Female Nude with Dog", 1927). After this great enrichment, further individual works from this collection were acquired, to mention above all Jawlensky's painting ''Heilandsgesicht: Ruhendes Licht'' ("Face of Salvation: Resting Light") from 1921.

Constructivist artists

Constructivist art is a focal theme in the collection of the Museum Wiesbaden. Although some of the big names are missing, the collection still offers a good overview. Among others,

with his painting ''Architektur III'' (1920), Erich Buchholz, Walter Dexel as well as the post-war artists Klaus Staudt,

Günter Fruhtrunk Günter Fruhtrunk (1 May 1923 – 12 December 1982) was a German geometric abstract painter and printmaker whose work relates to op art. Born in Munich, Fruhtrunk studied architecture at the Technische Hochschule in Munich, which he gave up a ...

and

François Morellet François Morellet (30 April 1926 – 10 May 2016) was a French contemporary abstract painter, sculptor, and light artist. His early work prefigured minimal art and conceptual art and he played a prominent role in the development of geometrical a ...

are included here. There are large complexes of works by the artist couple Robert Michel and

, Anton Stankowski, and above all by

with the painting complex ''K 116'' (1940). His archive is maintained by the museum.

Art since 1945

The Art collection of the Museum Wiesbaden is one of the most important art collections in Germany after 1945. It starts with Art Informel. Here the German artists

(''Krakmo'', 1958), Otto Greis, Heinz Kreutz, Fred Thieler,

Emil Schumacher Emil Schumacher (29 August 1912 in Hagen, Westfalen – 4 October 1999 in San José, Ibiza) was a German painter. He was an important representative of abstract expressionism in post-war Germany. In 2009 the Kunstquartier Hagen was inaugura ...

Hann Trier Hann Trier (1 August 1915 in Düsseldorf – 14 June 1999 in Castiglione della Pescaia in Tuscany) was a German artist, best known for his giant ceiling painting in the Charlottenburg Palace. He was married to the sociologist Renata Mayntz and wa ...

, Gerhard Hoehme and

(''Venen und Tang'', "Veins and Seaweed", 1955) are shown. The museum owns several of Bernard Schultze's ''Migofs'', a title which he attached to his sculptural works. The other positions of art of the 1940s and 1950s are envisioned by

with his painting ''Afrikanisch'' ("African", 1954), Willi Baumeister, Max Ackermann, Rolf Cavael,

Fritz Winter Fritz Winter (22 September 1905 in Altenbögge (now part of Bönen) – 1 October 1976 in Herrsching) was a German painter of the postwar period best known for his abstract works in the Art Informel style. Life Like his father, Winter b ...

and above all the painter Otto Ritschl from Wiesbaden with his painting ''Komposition'' (1955). These artists are followed by abstract painting artists such as

Rupprecht Geiger Rupprecht Geiger (26 January 1908 – 6 December 2009) was a German abstract painter and sculptor. Throughout his career, he favored monochromicity and color-field paintings. For a time, he concentrated solely on the color red. Life and work G ...

, Ulrich Erben, Bruno Erdmann and

Gotthard Graubner Gotthard Graubner (13 June 1930 – 24 May 2013) was a German painter, born in Erlbach, in Saxony, Germany. Graubner studied at the Academy of Arts, Berlin, the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts and the Düsseldorf Academy of Arts in Germany, be ...

. The

ZERO group In mathematics, a trivial group or zero group is a group consisting of a single element. All such groups are isomorphic, so one often speaks of the trivial group. The single element of the trivial group is the identity element and so it is usuall ...

and kinetic art are featured by artists such as

Günther Uecker Günther Uecker (; born 13 March 1930) is a German sculptor, op artist and installation artist. Biography Uecker was born in Wendorf, Mecklenburg.Heinz Mack Heinz Mack (born March 8, 1931) is a German artist. Together with Otto Piene he founded the ZERO movement in 1957. He exhibited works at documenta in 1964 and 1977 and he represented Germany at the 1970 Venice Biennale. He is best known for h ...

and Adolf Luther. Also

Sigmar Polke Sigmar Polke (13 February 1941 – 10 June 2010) was a German painter and photographer. Polke experimented with a wide range of styles, subject matters and materials. In the 1970s, he concentrated on photography, returning to paint in the 1980s ...

and, above all,

Gerhard Richter Gerhard Richter (; born 9 February 1932) is a German visual artist. Richter has produced abstract as well as photorealistic paintings, and also photographs and glass pieces. He is widely regarded as one of the most important contemporary German ...

belong to the collection. The museum possesses five paintings by Richter, including the famous ''Ein Wunder rettete'' ("A Miracle Saved", 1964).

Surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

is illustrated by two paintings by

Max Ernst Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealis ...

. In 1962 the legendary first

Fluxus Fluxus was an international, interdisciplinary community of artists, composers, designers and poets during the 1960s and 1970s who engaged in experimental art performances which emphasized the artistic process over the finished product. Fluxus ...

Festival took place in the museum. Of this period, the museum holds works by

Joseph Beuys Joseph Heinrich Beuys ( , ; 12 May 1921 – 23 January 1986) was a German artist, teacher, performance artist, and art theorist whose work reflected concepts of humanism, sociology, and anthroposophy. He was a founder of a provocative art mov ...

Wolf Vostell Wolf Vostell (14 October 1932 – 3 April 1998) was a German painter and sculptor, considered one of the early adopters of video art and installation art and pioneer of Happenings and Fluxus. Techniques such as blurring and Dé-coll/age are ...

and

Nam June Paik Nam June Paik (; July 20, 1932 – January 29, 2006) was a Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the founder of video art. He is credited with the first use (1974) of the term "electronic super h ...

. His work ''Zen for Head'' (1962) is part of the collection. The American post-war art is featured by some of its main protagonists by works of

Mark Rothko Mark Rothko (), born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz (russian: Ма́ркус Я́ковлевич Ротко́вич, link=no, lv, Markuss Rotkovičs, link=no; name not Anglicized until 1940; September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Lat ...

, Ad Reinhardt and

Agnes Martin Agnes Bernice Martin (March 22, 1912 – December 16, 2004), was an American abstract painter. Her work has been defined as an "essay in discretion on inward-ness and silence". Although she is often considered or referred to as a minimalist, Mart ...

. Also listed in the collection are artists such as

Donald Judd Donald Clarence Judd (June 3, 1928February 12, 1994) was an American artist associated with minimalism (a term he nonetheless stridently disavowed).Tate Modern websit"Tate Modern Past Exhibitions Donald Judd" Retrieved on February 19, 2009. In ...

Robert Mangold Robert Mangold (born October 12, 1937) is an American minimalist artist. He is also father of film director and screenwriter James Mangold. Early life and education Mangold was born in North Tonawanda, New York. His mother, Blanche, was a d ...

, Fred Sandback,

Dan Flavin Dan Flavin (April 1, 1933 – November 29, 1996) was an American Minimalism, minimalist artist famous for creating sculpture, sculptural objects and installations from commercially available Fluorescent lamp, fluorescent light fixtures. Earl ...

and

Brice Marden Brice Marden (born October 15, 1938) is an American artist generally described as Minimalist, although his work may be hard to categorize. He lives and works in New York City; Tivoli, New York; Hydra (island), Hydra, Greece; and Eagles Mere, Penn ...

. The museum also has the largest collection of works (graphics, paintings and objects) by the German-American Eva Hesse. One of her works is the wall object ''Eighter from Decatur'' (1965). The painting of the 1970s and 1980s is portrayed by artists such as

Georg Baselitz Georg Baselitz (born 23 January 1938) is a German painter, sculptor and graphic artist. In the 1960s he became well known for his figurative, expressive paintings. In 1969 he began painting his subjects upside down in an effort to overcome the ...

with his work ''Stillleben'' ("Still Life", 1969), Eugen Schönebeck, Jörg Immendorff and Thomas Bayrle. An outstanding focus of the collection is the installation- and ''object'' art of the last thirty years. The most important artists in the collection are Dietrich Helms,

Jeppe Hein Jeppe Hein (born 1974, Copenhagen, Denmark) is an artist based in Berlin and Copenhagen.Rebecca Horn Rebecca Horn (born 24 March 1944, in Michelstadt, Hesse) is a German visual artist, who is best known for her installation art, film directing, and her body modifications such a''Einhorn'' (Unicorn) a body-suit with a very large horn projecting ve ...

, Thomas Huber, Vollrad Kutscher,

Ingeborg Lüscher '' Ingeborg Lüscher (born June 22, 1936 in Freiberg) is a German/Swiss artist, working with painting, sculpture, photography, installation and video. Her work has been exhibited in many institutional venues around the world, including the Musée ...

, Christiane Möbus, Norbert Radermacher, Franz Erhard Walther and Dorothee von Windheim with her work ''Fassade III'' (in English ''Facade III'') (1979). In addition, there are works of international artists such as

Ilya Kabakov Ilya Iosifovich Kabakov (Russian: Илья́ Ио́сифович Кабако́в; born September 30, 1933), is a Russian–American conceptual artist, born in Dnipropetrovsk in what was then the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union. He worked f ...

with his work ''Der Rote Waggon'' ("The Red Wagon", 1991),

Micha Ullman Micha Ullman ( he, מיכה אולמן, born 1939) is an Israeli sculptor and professor of art. Biography Ullman was born in Tel Aviv to German Jews who immigrated to Mandate Palestine in 1933.Michal Lando''Art that hints at big questions,''The ...

Richard Serra Richard Serra (born November 2, 1938) is an American artist known for his large-scale sculptures made for site-specific landscape, Urban area, urban, and Architecture, architectural settings. Serra's sculptures are notable for their material q ...

Jochen Gerz Jochen Gerz (born 4 April 1940) is a German conceptual artist who lived in France from 1966 to 2007. His work involves the relationship between art and life, history and memory, and deals with concepts such as culture, society, public space, parti ...

with his composition ''Der Transsibirische-Prospekt'' ("Trans-Siberian View", 1977) and

Christian Boltanski Christian Liberté Boltanski (6 September 1944 – 14 July 2021) was a French sculptor, photographer, painter, and film maker. He is best known for his photography installations and contemporary French Conceptual art, conceptual style. Early li ...

Modernist sculpture Modern sculpture is generally considered to have begun with the work of Auguste Rodin, who is seen as the progenitor of modern sculpture. While Rodin did not set out to rebel against the past, he created a new way of building his works. He "dissolv ...

is represented by

Katsura Funakoshi is a Japanese sculptor. Funakoshi is considered a leading name in the field of visual arts in his country. His father, Yasutake Funakoshi, was also a sculptor and soon he felt the same vocation. He studied in the University of Art and Design ...

with his work of art ''A Tale of the Sphinx'' (2004).

Art awards

Although the Museum Wiesbaden does not award any art awards itself, two of them are closely linked to the museum.

Alexej von Jawlensky Prize

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of his death in 1991, the city of Wiesbaden established the Alexei von Jawlensky Prize, endowed with 18,000 Euros. Alexei von Jawlensky (1865–1941) was an important Russian artist in the first half of the 20th century who spent the last twenty years of his life in Wiesbaden. The prize is awarded every five years and has so far been awarded six times. The prize includes the purchase of a work for the Museum Wiesbaden and a special exhibition on the work of the winner in the Museum Wiesbaden. The previous laureates were: * 1991:

* 1996:

* 2001:

* 2006:

Rebecca Horn Rebecca Horn (born 24 March 1944, in Michelstadt, Hesse) is a German visual artist, who is best known for her installation art, film directing, and her body modifications such a''Einhorn'' (Unicorn) a body-suit with a very large horn projecting ve ...

* 2010:

Ellsworth Kelly Ellsworth Kelly (May 31, 1923 – December 27, 2015) was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker associated with hard-edge painting, Color Field painting and minimalism. His works demonstrate unassuming techniques emphasizing line, c ...

* 2014:

Otto Ritschl Prize

The Otto Ritschl Prize was established by the Museumsverein Otto Ritschl e. V. in 2001.

Otto Ritschl Otto Karl Albrecht Ritschl (26 June 1860 in Bonn – 28 September 1944 in Bonn) was a German theologian, the son of Albrecht Ritschl. After studying at Göttingen, Bonn and Giessen Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the Ger ...

(1885–1976) was an important German post-war artist who lived in Wiesbaden until his death. An international jury awards the prize at irregular intervals, which is associated with a cash reward and an exhibition at the Museum Wiesbaden. The previous laureates were: * 2001

* 2003 Ulrich Erben * 2009 Kazuo Katase * 2015 Katharina Grosse

Natural history collections

The originally independent Museum of Natural History in Wiesbaden was founded in 1829 by citizens of the region with the support of the Duke together with the (Nassau Association for Natural History). The beginning of the 19th century was marked by

industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

and enormous discoveries in the natural sciences. This is how the desire for a permanent institution was born. On the one hand, this offered the opportunity to establish an important place of education for the public and, on the other hand, to promote internal research. These goals are still pursued by today's natural history collections. One can find more information on this at the site of the Museum Wiesbaden.

Scientific collections

Originally the collection was intended to cover nature of the

. However, as the duchy lacked a university and international collections had to be integrated with the founding of the museum, this approach was abandoned. Nowadays the Natural History Collections belong to the larger ones in Germany with material from all regions of the world. About one million individual objects and series are available to science and public relations. Several thousand first described specimens serve in particular research into

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...

. With few exceptions, the collection survived the Second World War. A large part of the collection is documented in catalog, on index cards and digitally. Larger gaps exist especially in the areas of

and

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chorda ...

animals. Digital photographs are also available of numerous items in the collection.

General geology and mineralogy

The

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

collection is still completely in its 19th-century form, as the exhibition combines both scientific and display collections in vitrines. In addition to a general mineral collection of worldwide origin, the focus is on finds from the region, which document in particular the mining industry, which was important until a few decades ago. The scientific collection comprises about 14,000 pieces, currently listed in a computerized catalog.

Geological history

Three

geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...

eras are particularly represented in the immediate region of Wiesbaden. About 50,000

fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

are documented. From the recent history of the earth there are testimonies from the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

, which originate in particular from the . Regularly

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

and Main had dammed up in front of the Middle Rhine Valley and bones carried along remained in the sediment. Especially from the warm periods numerous fossils are preserved. A second focal point is the find area at the ''Caves of Steeden'', where the oldest artefacts of Hesse were found. One of the most important collections is related to the following two earth ages. It is the largest part of the legacy of the brothers

Guido Guido is a given name Latinised from the Old High German name Wido. It originated in Medieval Italy. Guido later became a male first name in Austria, Germany, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and Switzerland. The mea ...

and Fridolin Sandberger. The Mainz Basin bears witness to the impressive world of life in the

Paleogene The Paleogene ( ; also spelled Palaeogene or Palæogene; informally Lower Tertiary or Early Tertiary) is a geologic period and system that spans 43 million years from the end of the Cretaceous Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning o ...

. In this warmer phase after the extinction of the dinosaurs, the Mainz basin was regularly connected to the surrounding seas, in between these connections were lost, the inland sea sweetened out, a lake was formed and finally the water disappeared completely. In this change numerous animal species lived here, so there are traces of, amongst others,

Manatee Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living speci ...

Basking shark The basking shark (''Cetorhinus maximus'') is the second-largest living shark and fish, after the whale shark, and one of three plankton-eating shark species, along with the whale shark and megamouth shark. Adults typically reach in leng ...

s, reef-forming mussel banks, but also land creatures, such as the

Deinotherium ''Deinotherium'' was a large elephant-like proboscidean that appeared in the Middle Miocene and survived until the Early Pleistocene. Although superficially resembling modern elephants, they had notably more flexible necks, limbs adapted to a mo ...

, which was found in Eppelsheim. Especially artefacts from the Taunus originate from the

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, wh ...

, an equally warm time with a high sea level. Therefore, the collection contains evidence of an enormous marine fauna:

trilobites Trilobites (; meaning "three lobes") are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. Trilobites form one of the earliest-known groups of arthropods. The first appearance of trilobites in the fossil record defines the base of the A ...

, conodonts and graptolites. Beside it are worth mentioning: a

Palaeozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and '' ...

and

mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretace ...

fish collection, an extensive Mesozoic vertebrate collection, a large and complete

ichthyosaur Ichthyosaurs (Ancient Greek for "fish lizard" – and ) are large extinct marine reptiles. Ichthyosaurs belong to the order known as Ichthyosauria or Ichthyopterygia ('fish flippers' – a designation introduced by Sir Richard Owen in 1842, alt ...

specimen of

Holzmaden Holzmaden is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany that lies between Stuttgart and Ulm. Holzmaden is 4 km south-east from Kirchheim unter Teck and 19 km south-east of Esslingen am Neckar. The A 8 runs south from Holzmaden. The town ...

, a well sorted paleontological reference collection from the hydrobiic layer of the Mainz Basin, an extensive

Cephalopods A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, a ...

collection, a well sorted Brachiopodes collection and an extensive collection of

from the Taunus quartzite (incl.

Trace fossils A trace fossil, also known as an ichnofossil (; from el, ἴχνος ''ikhnos'' "trace, track"), is a fossil record of biological activity but not the preserved remains of the plant or animal itself. Trace fossils contrast with body fossils ...

References

External links

Museum Wiesbaden

Natural History Collection

Nassau Society of Natural Sciences

{{Authority control Modern art museums in Germany Art museums and galleries in Germany

Buildings and structures in Wiesbaden Culture in Wiesbaden Museums in Hesse Tourist attractions in Wiesbaden