Displaying items by tag: gemaldegalerie

Berlin's Gemäldegalerie announced they've made a shocking discovery about the museum's Rembrandt masterpiece "Susanna and the Elders" (1647), "Focus" reports. An X-ray analysis of the oil painting has revealed that the it had at one time undergone extensive alterations.

According to the daily "Berliner Morgenpost" art restorer Claudia Laurenze-Landsberg, who conducted the analysis, noticed tiny pigments on the canvas that didn't exist in the 17th century. What's more, some parts of the painting were in a style that she didn't recognize as Rembrandt's.

The Gemäldegalerie in Berlin and London's Victoria and Albert Museum have joined forces to present a comprehensive exhibition of works by the early Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli, "Monopol" reports.

Botticelli is not only regarded as one of the leading painters of the Italian Renaissance, but also as an icon of pop culture. The exhibition, thus, will pay tribute to the artist's enduring influence on art, design, and fashion, which can be traced to the present day.

The fate of Berlin’s collection of Old Masters painting has been a source of controversy for nearly a year. While museum space in the city dwindles, the works are currently being held in the Gemäldegalerie, a museum devoted to European art from the 13^th to 18^th centuries, fueling concerns that the paintings may soon be banished to a storage facility.

German culture minister Bernd Neumann attempted to nix fears by reassuring the public that a new institution will be built to house the collection within five to six years. However, there is still some concern as to where the collection, which boasts masterworks by Rembrandt (1606-1669), Sandro Boticelli (1445-1510), Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), and Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), will be exhibited until then.

Initial plans had the Old Masters collection going to the Bode Museum while the new Museum of 20^th Century and Modern Art took over the Gemäldegalerie. However, Neumann has suggested a number of other options. One of the plans has the Old Masters remaining in the Gemäldegalerie and building an entirely new modern art museum. Another one of Neumann’s strategies has the Bode Museum swapping out its sculpture collection in exchange for the Old Masters paintings.

Neumann’s various plans will be proposed to the Prussian Foundation and a decision will be reached this spring.