Bode Museum

Last updated

Bode Museum
Berlin Museumsinsel Fernsehturm.jpg
Bode Museum
Former name
Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum
Established1904
Location Museum Island, Berlin
Coordinates 52°31′19″N13°23′41″E / 52.52194°N 13.39472°E / 52.52194; 13.39472
Type Art museum
Website smb.museum
Part ofMuseumsinsel (Museum Island), Berlin
Criteria Cultural: ii, iv
Reference 896
Inscription1999 (23rd Session)
Area8.6 ha (21 acres)
Buffer zone22.5 ha (56 acres)

The Bode Museum, formerly called the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum (Emperor Frederick Museum), is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin. It was built from 1898 to 1904 by order of German Emperor William II according to plans by Ernst von Ihne in Baroque Revival style. The building's front square featured a memorial to German Emperor Frederick III, which was destroyed by the East German authorities. [1] Currently, the Bode-Museum is home to the Skulpturensammlung, the Museum für Byzantinische Kunst and the Münzkabinett (sculpture, coins and medals, and Byzantine art). [2] As part of the Museum Island complex, the Bode-Museum was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999 because of its outstanding architecture and testimony to the development of museums as a cultural phenomenon in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. [3]

Contents

History and collections

Originally called the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum after Emperor Frederick III, the museum was renamed in honor of its first curator, Wilhelm von Bode, in 1956.[ citation needed ]

During World War II, portions of the collection were stored in an antiaircraft tower called the Flakturm Friedrichshain for safe keeping. In May 1945, several fires destroyed some of the collections. In total, more than 400 paintings and about 300 sculptures were missing due to looting during the fire or destroyed in the fire itself. [4]

Closed for repairs since 1997, the museum was reopened on 18 October 2006, after a €156 million refurbishment. [5] True to the ethos of its founding director, Wilhelm von Bode, who believed in mixing art collections, [6] it is now the home for a collection of sculptures, Byzantine art, and coins and medals. [7] The presentation of the collections is both geographic and chronological, with the Byzantine and Gothic art of northern and southern Europe displayed separately on the museum's first floor and a similar regional division of Renaissance and Baroque art on its second floor. [6]

Sandro Botticelli, "Madonna and Child with Angels Carrying Candlesticks," c. 1485/1490, formerly the Kaiser Friedrich Museum, Berlin, destroyed 1945 in Flakturm Friedrichshain fire, Department of Image Collections, National Gallery of Art Library, Washington, DC Botticelli madonna DLI 14105010920.jpg
Sandro Botticelli, "Madonna and Child with Angels Carrying Candlesticks," c. 1485/1490, formerly the Kaiser Friedrich Museum, Berlin, destroyed 1945 in Flakturm Friedrichshain fire, Department of Image Collections, National Gallery of Art Library, Washington, DC

The sculpture collection displays artwork of the Christian Orient (with an emphasis on Coptic Egypt), sculptures from Byzantium and Ravenna, sculptures of the Middle Ages, the Italian Gothic, and the early Renaissance, including the controversial Flora attributed by Bode to Leonardo da Vinci but now widely argued to be a 19th-century work. Late German Gothic works are also represented by Tilman Riemenschneider, the south German Renaissance, and Prussian Baroque art up to the 18th century. In the future selected works of the Gemäldegalerie will be integrated into the sculpture collection. This is reminiscent of William von Bode's concept of "style rooms", in which sculptures, paintings, and crafts are viewed together, as was usual in upper middle-class private collections.

The Münzkabinett ("coin cabinet") is one of the world's largest numismatic collections. Its range spans from the beginning of minting in the 7th century BC in Asia Minor up to the present day. With approximately 500,000 items, the collection is a unique archive for historical research, while its medal collection also makes it an important art exhibition.[ citation needed ]

Writing in The Financial Times on the occasion on the museum's reopening in 2006, Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, hailed "the most comprehensive display of European sculpture anywhere." He added: "It is no exaggeration to say that in the new Bode Museum, Europe will be able for the first time to read its history — aesthetic and religious, intellectual and political — in a three-dimensional form." [6]

Canadian gold coin theft

The Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum in 1904 with the memorial on the front square 1905 Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum Monbijoubruecke.jpg
The Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum in 1904 with the memorial on the front square

On 27 March 2017, a solid gold coin called the Big Maple Leaf, issued by the Royal Canadian Mint in 2007 as a commemorative piece, was stolen from the museum. [8] [9] The coin, at 50 cm in diameter and 2.8 cm in thickness, is made of 24-karat gold and is worth around €3.7 million. [10] A ladder was found on the train tracks nearby, leading German police to speculate that the thief entered the building by breaking open a window in the back of the museum next to the railway tracks. [8] [10]

The thieves were later found to be 21 and 23-year-old cousins Ahmed and Wissam Remmo, along with their friend, Denis W. [11] Police do not expect to ever recover the coin, as the presence of gold dust leads them to believe the culprits had melted it down. Ahmed's brother Wayci was also charged, but later acquitted.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum Island</span> Part of Spree Island in central Berlin

The Museum Island is a museum complex on the northern part of Spree Island in the historic heart of Berlin, Germany. It is one of the capital's most visited sights and one of the most important museum sites in Europe. Originally built from 1830 to 1930, initially by order of the Prussian Kings, according to plans by five architects, the Museum Island was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999 because of its testimony to the architectural and cultural development of museums in the 19th and 20th centuries. It consists of the Altes Museum, the Neues Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie, the Bode-Museum and the Pergamonmuseum. As the Museum Island designation includes all of Spree Island north of the Karl Liebknecht Boulevard, the historic Berlin Cathedral is also located there, next to the open Lustgarten park. To the south of Liebknecht Boulevard, the reconstructed Berlin Palace houses the Humboldt Forum museum and opened in 2020. Also adjacent, across the west branch of the Spree is the German Historical Museum. Since German reunification, the Museum Island has been rebuilt and extended according to a master plan. In 2019, a new visitor center and art gallery, the James Simon Gallery, was opened within the Museum Island heritage site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pergamon Museum</span> Museum in Berlin, Germany

The Pergamon Museum is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin, Germany. It was built from 1910 to 1930 by order of Emperor Wilhelm II and according to plans by Alfred Messel and Ludwig Hoffmann in Stripped Classicism style. As part of the Museum Island complex, the Pergamon Museum was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999 because of its architecture and testimony to the evolution of museums as architectural and social phenomena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altes Museum</span> Antiquities museum in Berlin, Germany

The Altes Museum is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin, Germany. Built between 1825 and 1830 by order of King Frederick William III of Prussia according to plans by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, it is considered a major work of German Neoclassical architecture. It is surrounded by the Berlin Cathedral to the east, the Berlin Palace to the south and the Zeughaus to the west. Currently, the Altes Museum houses the Antikensammlung and parts of the Münzkabinett. As part of the Museum Island complex, the Altes Museum was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, in recognition of its testimony to the development of the museum as a social and architectural phenomenon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gemäldegalerie, Berlin</span> Art museum in Berlin, Germany

The Gemäldegalerie is an art museum in Berlin, Germany, and the museum where the main selection of paintings belonging to the Berlin State Museums is displayed. It was first opened in 1830, and the current building was completed in 1998. It is located in the Kulturforum museum district west of Potsdamer Platz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilhelm von Bode</span> German art historian (1845–1929)

Wilhelm von Bode was a German art historian and museum curator. Born Arnold Wilhelm Bode in Calvörde, and known as Wilhelm Bode for most of his career, he was ennobled in 1913, and thereafter adopted the aristocratic "von". He was the creator and first curator of the Kaiser Friedrich Museum, now called the Bode Museum in his honor, in 1904.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albertinum</span> Art museum, Historic site in Dresden, Germany

The Albertinum is a modern art museum. The sandstone-clad Renaissance Revival building is located on Brühl's Terrace in the historic center of Dresden, Germany. It is named after King Albert of Saxony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alte Nationalgalerie</span> Art museum in Berlin, Germany

The Alte Nationalgalerie is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin, Germany. The gallery was built from 1862 to 1876 by the order of King Frederick William IV of Prussia according to plans by Friedrich August Stüler and Johann Heinrich Strack in Neoclassical and Renaissance Revival styles. The building's outside stair features a memorial to Frederick William IV. Currently, the Alte Nationalgalerie is home to paintings and sculptures of the 19th century and hosts a variety of tourist buses daily. As part of the Museum Island complex, the gallery was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999 for its outstanding architecture and its testimony to the development of museums and galleries as a cultural phenomenon in the late 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dresden Castle</span> Castle in Dresden, Germany

Dresden Castle or Royal Palace is one of the oldest buildings in Dresden, Germany. For almost 400 years, it was the residence of the electors (1547–1806) and kings (1806–1918) of Saxony from the Albertine House of Wettin as well as Kings of Poland (1697–1763). It is known for the different architectural styles employed, from Baroque to Neo-Renaissance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neues Museum</span> Museum in Berlin, Germany

The Neues Museum is a listed building on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin, Germany. Built from 1843 to 1855 by order of King Frederick William IV of Prussia in Neoclassical and Renaissance Revival styles, it is considered as the major work of Friedrich August Stüler. After suffering damage in World War II and decay in East Germany, it was restored from 1999 to 2009 by David Chipperfield. Currently, the Neues Museum is home to the Egyptian Museum, the Papyrussammlung, the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte and parts of the Antikensammlung. As part of the Museum Island complex, the museum was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999 because of its outstanding architecture and testimony to the evolution of museums as a cultural phenomenon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden</span> Network of museums in Dresden, Germany

Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden is a cultural institution in Dresden, Germany, owned by the State of Saxony. It is one of the most renowned and oldest museum institutions in the world, originating from the collections of the Saxon electors in the 16th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staatliche Museen zu Berlin</span> Group of institutions in Berlin, Germany

The Staatliche Museen zu Berlin are a group of institutions in Berlin, Germany, comprising seventeen museums in five clusters; several research institutes; libraries; and supporting facilities. They are overseen by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and funded by the German federal government in collaboration with Germany's federal states. The central complex on Museum Island was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1999. By 2007, the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin had grown into the largest complex of museums in Europe. The museum was originally founded by King Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia in 1823 as the Königliche Museen.

The Antikensammlung Berlin is one of the most important collections of classical art in the world, now held in the Altes Museum and Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany. It contains thousands of ancient archaeological artefacts from the ancient Greek, Roman, Etruscan and Cypriot civilizations. Its main attraction is the Pergamon Altar and Greek and Roman architectural elements from Priene, Magnesia, Baalbek and Falerii. In addition, the collection includes a large number of ancient sculptures, vases, terracottas, bronzes, sarcophagi, engraved gems and metalwork.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin</span> Museum of Decorative Arts in Berlin, Germany

The Kunstgewerbemuseum, or Museum of Decorative Arts, is an internationally important museum of the decorative arts in Berlin, Germany, part of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. The collection is split between the Kunstgewerbemuseum building at the Kulturforum (52°30′35″N13°22′03″E) and Köpenick Palace (52°26′38″N13°34′22″E).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kupferstichkabinett Berlin</span> Prints museum in Berlin, Germany

The Kupferstichkabinett, or Museum of Prints and Drawings, is a prints museum in Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Berlin State Museums, and is located in the Kulturforum on Potsdamer Platz. It is the largest museum of graphic art in Germany, with more than 500,000 prints and around 110,000 individual works on paper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Münzkabinett</span> Museum in Dresden, Germany

The Münzkabinett is part of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. Founded around 1530, it is one of the oldest museums in Dresden. It is located in Dresden Castle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Gallery (Berlin)</span> Art museum in Berlin, Germany

The National Gallery in Berlin, Germany, is a museum for art of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. It is part of the Berlin State Museums. From the Alte Nationalgalerie, which was built for it and opened in 1876, its exhibition space has expanded to include five other locations. The museums are part of the Berlin State Museums, owned by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin</span> Museum in Berlin, Germany

The Museum of Islamic Art is located in the Pergamon Museum and is part of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.

<i>Huldschinsky Madonna</i> (sculpture) Sculpture attributed to Donatello

The Huldschinsky Madonna is a terracotta sculpture from the beginning of the 15th century, most probably from around 1410–1415. It is attributed to Donatello, an attribution based on the structure of the drapery, which is no longer simply a means of expression and decoration as in Gothic art but is instead more naturalistic and observed from life, following a strict dialogue with the anatomical forms beneath it and obeying the rules of gravity. The work's attention to detail such as the fringes on the clothing also recalls the artist's other works such as the marble David. The sculpture was formerly painted. It has been in the Bode Museum in Berlin since being donated by Oscar Huldschinsky in 1892 in Florence, who himself never owned it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sneschana Russewa-Hoyer</span> Bulgarian engraver and medallist

Sneschana Russewa-Hoyer is a Bulgarian engraver and medallist. She lives in Berlin, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margarete Oppenheim</span> German Jewish art collector (1857–1935)

Margarete Oppenheim was a German art collector and patron. She was among the first personalities to collect works of modern art in Germany and owned one of the largest collection in Germany. She is also known as Margarete Oppenheim-Reichenheim.

References

  1. ↑ Bodemuseum (Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum)(in German) Landesdenkmalamt Berlin Archived 18 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Bode-Museum". Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  3. ↑ "Museumsinsel (Museum Island), Berlin". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  4. ↑ "Beauty, Fire, & Memory: Lost Art of the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum". National Gallery of Art Department of Image Collections. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  5. ↑ "Teuer, billig, im Plan: Berliner Kulturbauten und was sie kosten". Der Tagesspiegel . Berlin. 17 October 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 Riding, Alan (27 November 2006). "German Museums Move Closer to Reunification" . The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  7. ↑ "Sculpture Collection and Museum of Byzantine Art". Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Solid gold coin worth $4m stolen from Berlin museum". BBC News . 27 March 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  9. ↑ Dowling, Tim (28 March 2017). "Forging pound coins? That's not a crime – it's a job". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  10. 1 2 Hall, Melanie (28 March 2017). "Giant gold coin worth almost €4 million stolen from Berlin museum in dawn heist". The Daily Telegraph . London. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  11. ↑ Dafoe, Taylor (21 February 2020). "The Bumbling Thieves Who Stole an Enormous $4.3 Million Gold Coin From a Berlin Museum—and Probably Melted It Down—Are Heading to Prison". Artnet News.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.