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You can't see the 3,000 square meters (32,300 square feet) that have been added to Frankfurt's renowned Städel Museum because they lie under the garden. Natural light enters through the 195 curved glass circles implanted in the grass. The museum officially reopens Wednesday, February 22, and the public is welcome starting on Saturday.
To fill the new portion of its building, the Städel Museum expanded its collection by 1,000 pieces of mainly contemporary art. Deutsche Bank contributed 600 artworks and DZ Bank threw in 220 photographs. Works by Gerhard Richter, Georg Baselitz, Martin Kippenberg and Wolfgang Tillmans are now part of the Städel collection. "Museums have a growth gene in their DNA," said director Max Hollein.
The expansion project took about a year and a half and cost 34 million euros ($45 million). According to the Städel Museum, 50 percent of the expenses were covered with public money, the rest with private donations.
The new exhibition highlights works from 1945 to the present, including "Horde," a 2007 piece by artist Daniel Richter.
Curator Martin Engler (pictured) says with the expansion comes a new approach to exhibiting art. Viewers don't get a linear A to Z view of art history, but are free to meander through time as they please. The new exhibition hall focuses on art from 1945 to the present.
On Saturday and Sunday, visitors can enter the Städel Museum for free, where works like Karl Horst Hödicke's "Holland Hd.Kl. A" from 1964 are on display.
In addition to the add-on, 18 million euros were spent on renovating the existing above-ground Städel Museum building. That part, which has long been known for showing works by artistic greats like Rembrandt and Monet, reopened at the end of last year.
An exhibition of works by Max Beckmann was a 2011 highlight at the Städel Museum. This year, the new contemporary collection gets the spotlight. Rare German 19th-century drawings and works by 17th-century landscape painter Claude Lorrain will also be showcased.
In 1815, merchant and banker Johann Friedrich Städel founded an art institute not only to make his extensive collection of artworks available to the public, but also to educate a new generation of artists. These two branches became the Städel Museum, pictured here around the year 1900, and the Städelschule. (Author: Kate Bowen, Editor: Andreas Illmer)
One of Germany's premiere art institutions, the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, has undergone a massive expansion. It now includes contemporary art in its uniquely presented collection.
One of Germany's premiere art institutions, the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, has undergone a massive expansion. It now includes contemporary art in its uniquely presented collection.
