Gemäldegalerie (Berlin)
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- This article is about a museum in Berlin, for other Museums with the same name, see Gemäldegalerie (Disambiguation)
The Gemäldegalerie is one of the worlds leading collections of European art from the 13th to 18th century. It is located on Kulturforum west of Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany. Its collection includes masterpieces from such artists as Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach, Raphael, Tizian, Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, and Rembrandt. It was first opened in 1830, and was rebuilt in 1998
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Architecture and Layout
The gallery sits in the south-west corner of the Kulturforum, a modern styled answer to East Berlins Museumsinsel (Museum Island) which was inaccessible to West Berliners during the time of the division of the city. It was designed by Munich architects Heinz Hilmer and Christoph Sattler. The building consists of 72 rooms providing a two kilometer floor. Upstairs the rooms flow around a football pitch sized center hall, which occasionally displays sculpture. There are also works downstairs, a gallery devoted to frames, and a digital gallery.
The Tour
The collection is more or less chronological starting from the enterance and moving towards the furthes wall, which means that following the rooms as they are numbered takes the visitor first to forward, then backward in time. Following the numbering system starting on the north side of the museum, viewing mostly Northern European art, until reaching the British Portrait art. If the visitor follows along the southern side, the visitor will go through mostly Italian and Southern European art. The gallery contains 1000 works, with around 400 more downstairs. Complementary audio guides in English, French, and German can be found just beyond the ticket desk.
The Collection
The museum prides itself on its scientific methodology in collecting and displaying art. Each room can be taken in as a single statement about one to five artists in a certain period or following a certain style. Esspecially notable rooms include the octogonal Rembrandt room and a room containing five different Madonnas by Raphael. Also notable expiriences include Flemish moralistic paintings which stretch across the north side of the museum, The interplay between religious motives of the artists sponsors and the often sensual instirations of the artists themselves.
For instance, as you go through the Renaissance section of the museum, you may see Caravaggio's Amor Victorious displayed along side Giovanni Baglione's Sacred Love Versus Profane Love. After hearing of the scandalous portrayal of the theme love conquers all in Carvaggio's work, a Roman bishop commissioned Baglionne's reply, which mimic Carvaggio's style, including the features of Amor.
History
The collection was first located in the Royal Museum located near Lustgarten on Unter den Linden (a famous Berlin street). The collection began largely with the collection of Frederick the Great. The gallery's first director was Gustav Friedrich Waagen.
Berlin's premier name in museum direction, Wilhelm von Bode served the gallery from 1890 to 1929. His leadership marked the rise of the Gemäldegalerie to international prominance.
In 1904 the Gemäldegalerie was largely a collection of Renaissance art when it moved to the newly built Kaiser Friedrich Museum (later known as the Bode Museum).
The museum was badly damaged during World War II, and four hundred pieces were lost. The rest of the collection was divided between East Berlin (mostly at the Bode Museum on Museumsinsel) and West Berlin in Berlin-Dahlem.
Links
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