SCULPTOR'S STUDIO AND HOUSE, COLLECTIONS

A visit to a museum


The large number of excellent collections that Berlin has to offer tends to distract attention from some of the interesting museums, even amongst art lovers. In an effort to remedy this situation, we have decided to showcase some of Berlin’s museums which are not usually in the limelight, but which have outstanding artistic or historical collections. Our first stop is the Georg-Kolbe-Museum.


Anyone who has been to the Georg-Kolbe-Museum will tell you about its idyllic location, the beautiful studio and the fine collection there. Visitors have a habit of returning. But there are still art lovers even in Berlin who do not know the Georg-Kolbe-Museum, mostly of two widespread misconceptions: people think either that the museum is a long way from the city center and difficult to get to (it is only the Berliners who are guilty of this, not visitors from further afield), or that it only collects and displays works by the sculptor Georg Kolbe, i.e. is basically a memorial to this particular artist.

It is true that the Georg-Kolbe-Museum is located in a delightfully green area on the western edge of the city, well away from the well-worn tourist routes and the clusters of museums in he center. But it only takes a few minutes to get there by local train (S-Bahn) or by bus, from either of the stations Zoologischer Garten or Friedrichstrasse, without even having to change.

The Georg-Kolbe-Museum is dedicated first and foremost to the oeuvre of its founder, but also concentrates on promoting and upholding traditional German sculpture. And the museum opened its doors a long time ago to newer, international sculptures and covers a broad range of sculptural expression of the twentieth century with its ever-changing exhibitions.

Georg Kolbe and his museum

We owe the rediscovery of sculpture showing the human form in the closing years of the 19th century to the mid-20th century to the publications and exhibitions of the Georg-Kolbe-Museum. During this period, abstract sculpture, which was later frequently regarded as the norm, had genuinely played a less important role in comparison to human sculptures.

From the end of the 18th century onwards, Berlin was on of the leading art centers, precisely in this area. Just think of the works on public display by Schadow, Rauch, Begas,and Tuaillon. But primarily in the 1920s and 1930s Berlin was the scene of the development of a new, independent type of sculpture of the human body, best seen in excellent works by Georg Kolbe (1877-1947) and other artists such as Lehmbruck, Kasper, Kollwitz and Scheibe. In the mid-20th century he was the best known German sculptor.
Curiously, he had trained as a painter and had never studied sculpture properly. His artistic breakthrough came in 1912 with his famous ´´Dancer``, which is now prominently displayed in the newly opened Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery). Kolbe concentrated on the autonomous nude, which in fact set him apart from the traditional commissions of the 19th century, with their often gross eroticism, fussy naturalism and nationalistic pathos. The body was seen for the first time as means of expression in its own right and was no longer used to represent mythological subjects or the politics of the day. Kolbe had created his generally lyrical girls’ figures in the period up to 1927, but after the tragic death of his wife Benjamine he produced male figures expressing grief and loneliness. He then turned his attention to the heroic body in an attempt to overcome his personal unhappiness and to assert himself despite the twists of fate he endured as a human being and as an artist. Despite this purely personally motivated shift in Kolbe’s sculpture, the Nazis celebrated Kolbe’s new muscular ideal as the archetype of the racially pure human being.

Kolbe commissioned his studio buildings in Sensburger Allee directly after the death of his wife. He wanted to be close to her grave in the cemetery in Heerstrasse (in fact he could see it from his roof-top terrace) and to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city center. A constant dialog with the architect Ernst Rentsch resulted in two parallel, strictly cubic brick buildings in 1928/1929, which not only met the sculptor’s needs but also fitted in with the local landscape amongst the pine trees of the Grunewald forest. The building accommodated the artist’s dwelling-house and studio (now the Georg-Kolbe-Museum) and a home for his daughter and her family, which now houses the Stiftung für Bilhauerei ( Sculpture Foundation) and a café. The buildings flank a garden of sculptures, centered on the ´´Figure for Fountain`` from 1922. Here nature, architecture and sculpture merge into an impressive unity. Kolbe lived here in his ´´castle`` (as he called it), something of a recluse and surrounded only by his plaster figures. The buildings’ original purpose is clear wherever one looks. There are tracks for transporting large sculptures through the studio, while a chimney in the living area indicates Kolbe’s private life, which was obviously subordinated to his work. In 1996 an extra building more than doubling the space available for exhibitions was added to the studio (which itself was used for exhibitions even during Kolbe’s lifetime).


Collecting and exhibiting

Since 1978 the museum has been adding to Kolbe’s legacy and his private collection, which were shown when the museum opened in 1950, by acquiring works by sculptors from the first of the 20th century, including Ernst Barlach, Rudolf Belling, Hermann Blumenthal. August Gaul, Hermann Haller, Max Klinger, Emy Roeder, Renée Sintenis, amongst the others. This means that the museum’s exhibiting and collecting activities have continually been expanded. Because Kolbe’s legacy was dominated by his later works, the museum concentrated on purchasing and recasting earlier pieces to put together a representative selection of his work. Today the museum owns around 200 sculptures by Georg Kolbe, not counting the plaster models. Then there are over 1000 drawings by the sculptor, and paintings and drawings by others including Liebermann, Corinth, Schmidt-Rotluff, Kirchner and Pechtein, which were given to Kolbe as gifts or which he had acquired in exchange for works of his own. In addition to Kolbe’s writings, the museum also looks after items left by Richard Scheibe, Renée Sintenis, Ernesto De Fiori, Hugo Lederer and Hermann Blumenthal. It also holds a photographic archive and a library on sculpture. Building on this foundation, the museum has recently been developing into a center for international sculpture of the 20h century. It presents other subjects related to sculpture and reliefs, such as the photography of sculptures and spatial installations based on the body. For example, in the year 2002 visitors will be able to admire photographs of Kolbe’s plaster models taken by Bernd Wolf.

Another aspect of the museum’s activities is its Georg Kolbe Prize to promote crucial positions in contemporary art. The prize is being awarded annually again since 2001 after a long break, in collaboration with the Verein Berliner Künstler (Berlin Artist’s Society). Furthermore, the neighbouring Stiftung für Bildhauerei, which was founded in1998, puts on exhibitions of art from the Period post-1945 not only its small studio gallery, but also increasingly in the rooms of Georg-Kolbe-Museum.

In the last twenty years over 60 exhibitions have been held. Experience has shown that the Berlin public, initially regarded as rather conservative, with a predilection for Kolbe and his idealistic nude sculptures, is clearly open to contemporary works of art. Th reason for this is that the museum’s directors are careful not to go against the original intentions of the founder. Kolbe’s life and works form the basis of the themed exhibitions that return again and again, e.g. the world of dance and sport. Presentations of art by his contemporaries are another permanent feature of exhibition policy. For example, sculptures by Ernst Barlach and Gerhard Marcks will be on how here at the end of 2002. Another aspect is the presentation of materials for sculpting and how they are used. One of these is wax, which until now has been neglected by art historians and which will be the subject of an exhibition in summer 2002. It will include sculptures and installations by Robert Wilson and Paul Thek, amongst others, showing some decidedly advanced and awkward works of art.

Continual cooperation with other European museums of sculpture, for example in the form of visiting exhibitions – such as the large Maillol and Lehmbruck exhibitions of recent years – completes a program with a recognizable thread despite all he various styles represented. In addition, the museum’s other activities are being continually extended. In 2002 it is organising a year-long program of regular events for the first time. The regular day is the first Saturday of every month. Shortly after closing time there are concerts , readings, lectures on art history and guided tours, all of which have some connection with the current exhibitions. The program is also backed up by practical art workshops for children and adults, held under ideal conditions in the studios, in the garden or on the roof of the museum.


An undiscovered secret?

The Georg-Kolbe-Museum was the first museum to open in the western sector of Berlin after the Second World War, and today is still the only artist’s studio in Berlin being used as a museum. It is unique on several counts. On hot summer days there is no better way to pass the time than conversing with the sculptures in the cool studio, taking a walk in the idyllic sculpture garden, and finishing off by contemplating your new impressions over refreshment in the café. A visit to the museum us easily combined with an exploration of the surrounding area. You may like to see more o Kolbe’s work on a stroll through the interesting cemetery in Heerstrasse, which lies very close by, or the Kolbe-Hain (Kolbe grove) and the Olympic Stadium (with limited access). Individual visitors and tourist busses seldom stray into Berlin’s smart ´´Westend``, despite the attractive landscape and architecture. So the atmosphere in the museum is still rather intimate – you ring the doorbell of the former studio building and a member of staff greets you personally. All the staff are qualified art historians and are happy to answer questions about the building or the collection. With a bit of luck you may be able the director herself about a specialist problem.

Sculpture has always had fewer connoisseurs, collectors and lovers than the art of painting. So museums dedicated solely to sculpture are something of rarity. But the increasing number of members in the active society of friends and supporters of the museum indicates that the circle of specialists is growing, slowly but surely. The museum is still regarded as something of an undiscovered secret. At a time when presentations of 20th century sculpture is concentrating mostly conceptual and abstract art, the Georg-Kolbe-Museum is filling gap. For friends of modern sculpture it is a must, and for art lovers looking for something to stimulate the senses in a peaceful setting away from the wellworn paths of Berlin'’ cultural scene, it is a delight.