Displaying items by tag: bode museum

Works damaged in two devastating fires in 1945 that destroyed around 400 paintings and sculptures stored in Berlin’s Friedrichshain bunker, including pieces by Caravaggio, Rubens and Donatello, are being presented in a new exhibition at the Bode Museum. “The Missing Museum: the Berlin Sculpture and Paintings Collections 70 Years after World War II”, which opened March 19, explores ethical and practical decisions museums face in regards to war-damaged works, namely whether they should be restored or left in their ruined state as a permanent reminder of the horrors of the conflict.

“One of the exhibition’s objectives is to bring these works back from oblivion into people’s consciousness,” says Julien Chapuis, the museum’s deputy director and curator of the show, adding that many of the pieces have not been exhibited since 1939.

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.