The Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum is an art museum in Aachen, Germany. Founded in 1877, its collection includes works by

Aelbrecht Bouts Aelbrecht Bouts (1452 - March 1549) was a Flemish painter of the Early Netherlandish era. His first name is sometimes spelled ‘Albert’, ‘Aelbert’ or ‘Albrecht’. He was born into a family of painters in Leuven. Aelbrecht’s father ...

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 ...

, Anthony van Dyck,

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 ...

and

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 ...

History

The ' (Aachen museum association) was created in 1877, and in 1883 a city museum was opened in the ' (Old

Redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldi ...

) building. It was named the Suermondt Museum, after the founder Barthold Suermondt, who gave 105 paintings from his collection to the city, as well as those from the collection of his sister-in-law Adèle Cockerill. This collection, together with many other works which were later sold to Berlin, had been on display in the Suermondt Gallery in Aachen already before the museum was established. In 1901, the museum moved to the , originally owned by the Cassalette family which had acquired fortune through the Aachener Kratzenfabrik Cassalette, which produced

raising card A raising card is used to raise cloth. Raising is the technique used to produce the nap of cloth. Originally, only woolen cloth was raised, but now flannelette and other cotton fabrics are also raised. Raising is one of the last steps in the f ...

s. Over the next decades, the building was slowly extended to house the ever growing museum collection, interrupted by WWII when the collection was stored for safe-keeping in the

Albrechtsburg The Albrechtsburg is a Late Gothic and early Renaissance castle erected from 1471 till about 1495. It is located in the town centre of Meissen in the German state of Saxony. It is situated on a hill above the river Elbe, adjacent to the Mei ...

in Meissen. About 200 paintings were missing after the war, but the museum recently recovered two flower paintings; ''

Flowers in a Glass Vase ''Flowers in a glass vase on a partly draped stone ledge'' is a circa 1667 floral painting by Nicolaes van Verendael in the collection of the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum. Early history and creation Nicolaes van Verendael was a respected flower paint ...

'' and ''

Flowers in a Wan-Li Vase ''Flowers in a Wan-Li Vase'' is a circa 1620s floral painting by Balthasar van der Ast in the collection of the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum. Early history and creation Balthasar van der Ast was a respected flower painter from Middelburg, Zeeland, Mid ...

''. The most recent expansion was in 1992 to 1994. Major gifts were received from Anton Ignaz van Houtem and

Franz Johann Joseph Bock Franz Johann Joseph Bock (1823–1899) was a German theologian, archaeologist, and art historian.Conant, p. 770 '' a German theologian and archaeologist, bom at Burtscheid in 1823. He was educated at Bonn, became chaplain at Crefeld in 1850, then ...

. In 1977, the name of the museum was changed to Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum to honour Irene and Peter Ludwig, art collectors who donated a significant part of their collection of art (medieval to modern) to the museum that year, after having given permanent loans from 1957 on.

Building

The family Cassalette, rich factory owners in Aachen, asked the architect

Eduard Linse Eduard Model Accessories is a Czech manufacturer of plastic models and finescale model accessories. Formed in 1989 in the city of Most, Eduard began in a rented cellar as a manufacturer of photoetched brass model components. Following the su ...

to design a city palace in a

Renaissance Revival architecture Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...

style, inspired by Venetian palaces. The interior of the Villa Cassalette was richly decorated with murals in the Pompeian style, stucco cassettes on the ceilings, and sculptures. Many small changes and extensions were made when the building became a museum in 1901 and afterwards; but much of the original interior has been restored or made visible again since. In 1992-1994, the architecture company Busmann & Haberer designed a large extension, built at the left side of the Villa.

Collection

The oldest pieces in the collection are German sculptures from the 12th to 16th century. This includes works by

Tilman Riemenschneider Tilman Riemenschneider (c. 1460 – 7 July 1531) was a German sculptor and woodcarver active in Würzburg from 1483. He was one of the most prolific and versatile sculptors of the transition period between late Gothic and Renaissance, a master ...

, Hendrik Douvermann and

Arndt van Tricht Arndt or Arnd is a German masculine given name, a short form of Arnold, as well as a German patronymic surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Arndt Bause (1936–2003), German composer of popular songs *Arndt von Bohlen und H ...

. Amongst the earliest paintings in the collection is an ''Adoration of the Magi'' by the Master of the Glorification of the Virgin and a work by

. Paintings from the 16th century include a ''Judith'' by Luca Cranach the Elder, an ''

Ecce Homo and Mater Dolorosa Diptych The ''Ecce Homo and Mater Dolorosa Diptych'' consisted of two small oil-on-panel paintings usually attributed to the Early Netherlandish artist Aelbrecht BoutsDresser, 198 produced between 1491 – 1520. For many years they formed the wings of a ...

'' by

and a ''Mary Magdalen'' by

Cornelis Engebrechtsz. Cornelis Engebrechtsz., also known as Cornelis Engelbrechtsz. (c.1462–1527) was an early Dutch painter. He was born and died in Leiden, and is considered the first important painter from that city.

Major artists from the 17th century who are represented here include from Spain

Francisco de Zurbarán Francisco de Zurbarán ( , ; baptized 7 November 1598 – 27 August 1664) was a Spanish painter. He is known primarily for his religious paintings depicting monks, nuns, and martyrs, and for his still-lifes. Zurbarán gained the nickname "Spanish ...

Luis de Morales Luis de Morales (1509 – 9 May 1586) was a Spanish painter active during the Spanish Renaissance in the 16th century. Known as "El Divino", most of his work was of religious subjects, including many representations of the Madonna and Child and ...

and

Jusepe de Ribera Jusepe de Ribera (1591 – 1652) was a painter and printmaker, who along with Francisco de Zurbarán, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, and the singular Diego Velázquez, are regarded as the major artists of Spanish Baroque painting. Referring ...

and from Italy

Bartolomeo Manfredi Bartolomeo Manfredi (baptised 25 August 1582 – 12 December 1622) was an Italian painter, a leading member of the Caravaggisti (followers of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio) of the early 17th century. Life Manfredi was born in Ostiano, nea ...

. The large collection of paintings from Flanders and the Netherlands shows works by Anthony van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens,

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 ...

Jacob Isaacksz van Ruisdael Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael (; 1629 – 10 March 1682) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He is generally considered the pre-eminent landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age, a period of great wealth and cultural ac ...

, Frans Hals,

Willem Claeszoon Heda Willem Claesz. Heda (December 14, 1593/1594c. 1680/1682) was a Dutch Golden Age artist from the city of Haarlem devoted exclusively to the painting of still life. He is known for his innovation of the late breakfast genre of still life painti ...

Willem Kalf Willem Kalf (1619 – 31 July 1693) was one of the most prominent Dutch still-life painters of the 17th century, the Dutch Golden Age. We first get acquainted with Willem Kalf through Arnold Houbraken, in his Groot Schilderboek, who speaks very ...

Joseph de Bray Joseph de Bray (1630, Haarlem – 1664, Haarlem), was a Dutch Golden Age painter. Biography According to the RKD he was born into an artistic family as the son of Salomon de Bray and Anna Westerbaen (sister of the painter Jan and the po ...

and

Jan Boeckhorst Jan Boeckhorst or Johann Bockhorst (c. 1604 – 21 April 1668) was a German-born Flemish Baroque painter and draughtsman. He was a versatile artist who produced history paintings, genre scenes and portraits in a style influenced by the trio ...

. The modern art collection is largely restricted to artists living or working in Germany, including internationally known ones like

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 expressioni ...

, August Macke and

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 ...

. Other disciplines on display include a large collection of glass painting, 10,000 works of graphic art by artists like Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt and many others, Flemish tapestries, and works of goldsmiths. File:Ditiek Albrecht Bouts.jpg, ''

'', by

. c. 1491–1520 File:Pieter Aertsen Die vier Evangelisten.jpg, ''The Four Evangelists'' by

Pieter Aertsen Pieter Aertsen (1508 – 2 June 1575), called ''Lange Piet'' ("Tall Pete") because of his height, was a Dutch painter in the style of Northern Mannerism. He is credited with the invention of the monumental genre scene, which combines still life ...

File:Joos van Cleve - Kirschenmadonna (Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum).jpg, The ''Cherry Madonna'' by

File:Willem Claesz. Heda - Stillleben mit Nautiluspokal - 1640.jpeg, ''Still life with nautilus cup'' by

Notes

{{Authority control 1883 establishments in Germany Art museums established in 1883 Buildings and structures in Aachen Art museums and galleries in Germany