The Städel, officially the ''Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie'', is an

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. Although primarily con ...

in Frankfurt, with one of the most important collections in Germany. The Städel Museum owns 3,100 paintings, 660 sculptures, more than 4,600 photographs and more than 100,000 drawings and prints. It has around 4,000 m² of display and a library of 115,000 books. The Städel was honoured as "Museum of the Year 2012" by the German art critics association AICA. In the same year the museum recorded the highest attendance figures in its history, of 447,395 visitors. In 2020 the museum had 318,732 visitors, down 45 percent from 2019, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. It ranked 71st on the

list of most-visited art museums This article lists the most-visited art museums in the world in 2021. The primary source is '' The Art Newspaper'' annual survey of the number of visitors to major art museums in 2021, published 28 March 2022. Total attendance in the top one hu ...

in 2020.

History

The Städel was founded in 1817, and is one of the oldest museums in Frankfurt's Museumsufer, or museum embankment. The founding followed a bequest by the Frankfurt banker and art patron Johann Friedrich Städel (1728–1816), who left his house, art collection and fortune with the request in his will that the institute be set up. In 1878, a new building, in the

Gründerzeit (; "founders' period") was the economic phase in 19th-century Germany and Austria before the great stock market crash of 1873. In Central Europe, the age of industrialisation had been taking place since the 1840s. That period is not precisely ...

style, was erected on

Schaumainkai Schaumainkai is a street in central Frankfurt, Germany, running along the south side of the river Main. It includes a number of museums including the Städel. Because of the large concentration of museums on the riverside, the area is called Museu ...

street, presently the major museum district. By the start of the 20th century, the gallery was among the most prominent German collections of classic Pan-European art; the other such collections open to the public were the

Dresden Gallery Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth lar ...

, the

Alte Pinakothek The Alte Pinakothek (, ''Old Pinakothek'') is an art museum located in the Kunstareal area in Munich, Germany. It is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses a significant collection of Old Master paintings. The name Alte (Old) Pi ...

in Munich, and the

Altes Museum The Altes Museum (English: ''Old Museum'') is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin. Built from 1825 to 1830 by order of King Frederick William III of Prussia according to plans by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, it i ...

in Berlin.

World War II

In 1937, 77 paintings and 700 prints were confiscated from the museum when the

National Socialists 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 Na ...

declared them "

degenerate art Degenerate art (german: Entartete Kunst was a term adopted in the 1920s by the Nazi Party in Germany to describe modern art. During the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler, German modernist art, including many works of internationally renowned artists, ...

". In 1939, the collection was moved out of Frankfurt to protect it from damage in

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The collection of the Städel Museum was removed from the museum to avoid destruction from the Allied bombings, and the collection was stored in the Schloss Rossbach, a castle owned by the Baron Thüngen near Bad Brückenau in Bavaria. There, the museum's paintings and library were discovered by Lt. Thomas Carr Howe, USN, of the American Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives program. Although the Baron von Thüngen and his wife were uncooperative with the Americans, Frau Dr. Holzinger, a licensed physician and the Swiss wife of the Städel Museum director, was present at the site and assisted with the cataloging and the removal of the items to the

Munich Central Collecting Point The Munich Central Collecting Point was a depot used by the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program after the end of the Second World War to process, photograph and redistribute artwork and cultural artifacts that had been confiscated by the Na ...

. Lt. Howe said, "The first room to be inspected was a library adjoining the sitting room in which we had been waiting. Here we found a quantity of excellent French Impressionist paintings, all from the permanent collection of the Städel Museum, and a considerable number of fine Old Master drawings. Most of these were likewise the property of the museum, but a few – I remember one superb Rembrandt sketch – appeared to have come from Switzerland. Those would, of course, have to be looked into later, to determine their exact origin and how they came to be on loan to the museum. But for the moment we were concerned primarily with storage conditions and the problem of security. In another room we found an enormous collection of books, the library of one of the Frankfurt museums. In a third we encountered an array of medieval sculpture – saints all sizes and description, some of carved wood, others of stone, plain or polychromed. These too, were of museum origin. The last storage room was below ground, a vast, cavernous chamber beneath the house. Here was row upon row of pictures, stacked in two tiers down the center of the room and also along two sides. From what we could make of them in the poor light, they were not of high quality. During the summer months they would be alright in the underground room, but we thought the place would be very damp in the winter. Frau Holzinger assured us that this was so and that the pictures should be removed before the bad weather set in."

Renovations

The gallery was substantially damaged by air raids in World War II and it was rebuilt by 1966 following a design by the Frankfurt architect Johannes Krahn. An expansion building for the display of 20th-century work and special exhibits was erected in 1990, designed by the Austrian architect Gustav Peichl. Small structural changes and renovations took place from 1997 to 1999. The largest extension in the history of the museum to 7,000 square meter intended for the presentation of contemporary art was designed by the Frankfurt architectural firm and opened in February 2012.

Digital expansion

The Städel is currently significantly enlarging its activities and outreach through a major digital expansion on the occasion of its 200-year anniversary in 2015. Already available to visitors is an exhibition 'digitorial' and free access to WiFi throughout the museum and its grounds. From March the museum will offer to visitors a new Städel app, the possibility of listening to audio guides on their own devices, and a new 'cabinet of digital curiosities'. Several more projects are currently in development including an online exhibition platform; educational computer games for children; online art-history courses and a digital art book.

Collection

The Städel has European paintings from seven centuries, beginning with the early 14th century, moving into Late Gothic, the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

, Baroque, and into the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. The large collection of prints and drawings is not on permanent display and occupies the first floor of the museum. Works on paper not on display can be viewed by appointment. The gallery has a conservation department that performs conservation and restoration work on the collection.

Temporary exhibitions

Most visited exhibitions: * "Making

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

" 2019/2020 (505,750 visitors) * "

Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

und die Geburt des Impressionismus" 2015 (432,121 visitors) * " Botticelli" 2009/2010 (367,033 visitors) * " Dürer. Kunst – Künstler – Kontext" 2013/2014 (258,577 visitors)

Selected works

Robert Campin Robert Campin (c. 1375 – 26 April 1444), now usually identified with the Master of Flémalle (earlier the Master of the Merode Triptych, before the discovery of three other similar panels), was the first great master of Early Netherlandish paint ...

, ''Flémalle Panels'', ca. 1428–1430, mixed technique, 160.2 × 68.2 cm, 151.8 × 61 cm, 148.7 × 61 cm * Jan van Eyck, ''

Lucca Madonna The ''Lucca Madonna'' is an oil painting by the Early Netherlandish master Jan van Eyck, painted in approximately 1437. It shows Mary seated on a wooden throne and crowned by a canopy, breastfeeding the infant Christ. Its carpentry suggests it ...

'', ca. 1437, mixed technique, 66 x 50 cm *

Fra Angelico Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro; February 18, 1455) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Vasari in his '' Lives of the Artists'' as having "a rare and perfect talent".Giorgio Vasari, ''Lives of the Artists''. Pengu ...

, '' Madonna with Child and Twelve Angels'', 1430–1433, tempera on panel, 37 x 27 cm *

Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden () or Roger de la Pasture (1399 or 140018 June 1464) was an early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commissioned single and diptych portraits. He was highly ...

, ''

Medici Madonna The ''Medici Madonna'' is a marble sculpture carved by the Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo Buonarroti that measures about 88.98 inches (226 cm) in height. Dating from 1521 to 1534, the sculpture is a piece of the altar decoration of the ...

'', c. 1460–1464, oil on panel, 61.7 x 46.1 cm * Master of the Frankfurt Paradiesgärtlein, ''

Paradiesgärtlein The ''Paradiesgärtlein'' (''Garden of Paradise'') is a panel painting created around 1410 by an unknown painter referred to as '' Upper Rhenish Master''. It belongs to the ''Mary in the rose bower'' type. The ''Paradiesgärtlein'' is one of the ea ...

'', between 1400 und 1420, mixed technique on oak, 26 x 33 cm *

Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (, ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch/ Netherlandish painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on o ...

, '' Ecce Homo'', c. 1476, oil on panel, 75 x 61 cm *

Sandro Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli (, ), was an Italian Renaissance painting, Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th cent ...

, '' Portrait of a Young Woman'', 1480–85, mixed technique on a poplar panel, 82 x 54 cm *

Bartolomeo Veneto Bartolomeo Veneto (active 1502–31) was an Italian painter who worked in Venice, the Veneto (the mainland), and Lombardy. During his time in Venice, he studied under Gentile Bellini. The little information available about Bartolomeo's life ...

, '' Portrait of a Young Woman'', between 1500 and 1530, mixed technique on a poplar panel, 44 x 34 cm *

Rembrandt van Rijn Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consi ...

, ''

The Blinding of Samson ''The Blinding of Samson'' is a 1636 painting by Rembrandt, now in the Städel (in Frankfurt). The painting is the first of its kind in pictorial tradition. No other artist at the time had painted this specific narrative moment. This painting ...

'', 1636, oil on canvas, 205 x 272 cm *

Johannes Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...

, ''

The Geographer ''The Geographer'' (Dutch: ) is a painting created by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer in 1668–1669, and is now in the collection of the Städel museum in Frankfurt, Germany. It is closely related to Vermeer's '' The Astronomer'', for instance usi ...

'', 1668–1669, oil on canvas, 52 x 45.5 cm *

Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, known as the ''Goethe Tischbein'' (15 February 1751 in Haina – 26 February 1829 in Eutin), was a German painter from the Tischbein family of artists. Biography Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein was born on ...

, ''

Goethe in the Roman Campagna ''Goethe in the Roman Campagna'' is a painting by Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, a German Neoclassical painter, depicting Johann Wolfgang von Goethe when the writer was travelling in Italy. Goethe's book on his travels to Italy from 1786–88, ...

'', 1787, oil on canvas, 164 x 206 cm * Edgar Degas, ', 1872, oil on canvas, 69 x 49 cm The museum also features works by the 20th-century German artist

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 ...

Gallery

Lucca Madonna by Jan Van Eyck - Städel - Frankfurt am Main - Germany 2017.jpg, Jan van Eyck, ''Lucca Madonna'' Meister des Frankfurter Paradiesgärtleins 001.jpg, Oberrheinischer Meister, ''

'' Sandro Botticelli 069.jpg, Sandro Botticelli, ''Portrait of a Young Woman'' 1520 Veneto Idealbildnis einer Kurtisane als Flora anagoria.JPG, Bartolomeo Veneto, ''Portrait of a Young Woman'' The Blinding of Samson (SM 1383).png, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, ''

'' Johannes Vermeer - The Geographer - Google Art Project.jpg, Johannes Vermeer, ''

'' Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein - Goethe in the Roman Campagna - Google Art Project.jpg, Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, ''

'' Edgar Degas - Orchestra Musicians - Google Art Project.jpg, Edgar Degas, '

Directors

The directors of the Städel Museum: * Carl Friedrich Wendelstadt 1817–1840 * Philipp Veit 1830–1843 * Johann David Passavant 1840–1861 * Gerhard Malß 1861–1885 * Georg Kohlbacher 1885–1889 * Henry Thode 1889–1891 * Heinrich Weizsäcker 1891–1904 * Ludwig Justi 1904–1905 * Georg Swarzenski 1906–1937 * Ernst Holzinger 1938–1972 * Klaus Gallwitz 1974–1994 * Herbert Beck 1994–2006 *

Max Hollein Max Hollein (born 7 July 1969 in Vienna) is an Austrian art historian and the current Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. He served as Director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco from July 2016, until Apri ...

2006–2016 * since 2016

Literature

* Eva Mongi-Vollmer: ''Meisterwerke im Städel Museum''. Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main 2007. * Bodo Brinkmann: ''Das Städel, Frankfurt am Main''. Prestel Verlag (Prestel-Museumsführer), München 1999, * Bodo Brinkmann und Stephan Kemperdick: ''Deutsche Gemälde im Städel 1500–1550 (Kataloge der Gemälde im Städelschen Kunstinstitut Frankfurt am Main, hrsg. von Herbert Beck und Jochen Sander). Verlag Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2005, *

References

External links

* *
Virtual tour of the Städel
provided by Google Arts & Culture {{DEFAULTSORT:Stadel Museum 1818 establishments in Germany Art museums and galleries in Germany Museums in Frankfurt Art museums established in 1818

History

World War II

Renovations

Digital expansion

Collection

Temporary exhibitions

Selected works

Gallery

Directors

See also

Literature

References

External links