12.05.2025

Outstanding new addition to the Alte Pinakothek

Building design

Collection

On display in the Alte Pinakothek from June: "Mary as Queen of Heaven" by Hans Baldung, gen. Grien.

The Alte Pinakothek in Munich is enriching its collection with a true masterpiece of Old German painting: Hans Baldung Grien’s “Mary as Queen of Heaven”. This outstanding painting from the early 16th century, which fills a gap in the collection, is not only an aesthetic highlight, but also a significant step for the promotion of art and culture by private foundations in Bavaria.

The Bavarian State Painting Collections are expanding their collection of old German paintings with a work of particular importance: Hans Baldung Grien’s “Mary as Queen of Heaven”, painted around 1516/18, is now part of the Alte Pinakothek. The acquisition was made possible by the Pesl-Stiftung Bayern, the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung and the Pinakotheks-Verein.
The devotional picture (35 x 25.5 cm) painted on limewood was one of the last remaining works by Hans Baldung in private ownership and “not only complements the collection, but will enrich it”, says Thomas Weckbach, Chairman of the Pesl Foundation. The new acquisition is considered artistically and iconographically exceptional. The painting will be on display from June 5, 2025 as part of the exhibition “Wie Bilder erzählen. Storytelling from Albrecht Altendorfer to Peter Paul Rubens” on the first floor west of the Alte Pinakothek.
“A heavenly addition for Bavaria: Hans Baldung Grien’s ‘Mary as Queen of Heaven’ is coming to Munich!” comments Minister of State Markus Blume. “It is largely thanks to the work of Maja and Rudolf Pesl that we can marvel at this outstanding work of Old German painting permanently in the Alte Pinakothek.”

With this purchase, the Pesl-Stiftung Bayern is making its first appearance as a partner for important museum acquisitions. Established in 1991, the foundation promotes art, culture and education in Bavaria and will enable further purchases for the Alte and Neue Pinakothek and the Bavarian National Museum in the future.
“To be able to acquire such an outstanding work is a rare stroke of luck. It was both an obligation and a pleasure for us to make this possible,” emphasizes Dr. Thomas Weckbach, Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
The Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation and the Pinakotheks-Verein also contributed significantly to the acquisition. “Hans Baldung, a creative, educated Renaissance man, has given the Queen of Heaven a painterly perfect, colorful, divine and sensual appearance,” says Dr. Martin Hoernes, Secretary General of the Siemens Foundation.

Hans Baldung, known as Grien (1484/85-1545), is one of the most important representatives of Old German painting. After training in Albrecht Dürer’s workshop, he developed an unmistakable style in Strasbourg. His works combine masterful painting technique with intellectual depth. Depictions of the Mother of God in particular occupy a central position in his oeuvre.
“Mary as Queen of Heaven” is an impressive illustration of this. The combination of a crowned Madonna and Maria lactans, the depiction of a breastfeeding Mother of God, refers to theological ambiguities. Painterly details such as the transparent veil that unites with the baby Jesus’ swaddling cloth illustrate Baldung’s ability to create complex pictorial symbolism.
“The painting contrasts the ideally beautiful, sensual figure of the Virgin Mary with a realistically depicted infant,” according to a statement from the Staatsgemäldesammlungen. “The delicate veil connects the two figures and refers to the dual nature of Christ.”
Anton Biebl, interim director of the Bavarian State Painting Collections, emphasizes the strategic dimension of the purchase: “This partnership will enable us to develop an acquisition strategy to consolidate the world-famous collection at the highest level.”

The history of the work goes back over a century. It came from private ownership in Basel to the Princely Hohenzollern Museum in Sigmaringen in 1907, was acquired by the Jewish collector Robert von Hirsch in 1928 and was able to emigrate with him to Switzerland in 1933. After Hirsch’s death, the collection was auctioned in London in 1978. In 2012, the work came into American ownership, from where it has now returned to Munich.
The work was reframed in a contemporary historical walnut frame (around 1500-1550), financed by the Pesl Foundation of Bavaria.

With this acquisition, the Alte Pinakothek is not only gaining an art-historically significant work, but is also setting an example for the future of Old German painting in Bavaria.
“A small-format devotional painting by Baldung was previously missing from the Alte Pinakothek,” emphasizes Gabriel Dette, Head of the Old German Painting Collection. “The work fits seamlessly into the existing collection, as if it had always been intended for this place.”

© Bavarian State Painting Collections – Alte Pinakothek Munich
Photo: Sibylle Forster

12.11.2024

Design

Sculpture of the month: Family stele

Building design

September 20, 2015 was World Children’s Day. Under the motto “Children welcome!”, many initiatives across Germany drew attention to the rights of children. Especially in view of the refugee crisis, it is important that these rights are upheld! Children are usually best off in their families. It is a safe haven, a place of security – it is identity and home. With our Sculpture of the Month October 2015, we want to draw attention to the family and its irreplaceable value.

September 20, 2015 was World Children’s Day. Under the motto “Children welcome!”, many initiatives across Germany drew attention to the rights of children. Especially in view of the refugee crisis, it is important that these rights are upheld! Children are usually best off in their families. It is a safe haven, a place of security – it is identity and home. With our Sculpture of the Month for October 2015, we want to draw attention to the family and its irreplaceable value.

Master stonemason and stone sculptor Kathrin Post-Isenberg from Siegburg created a family stele made of various granites for a family of four from Bonn. As in every family, her clients have many things in common, a structure of togetherness – at the same time, the individual parts of the family, each person is different or unique. Post-Isenberg wanted to pick up on this in her sculpture – similar to the design of individual gravestones, in which she also highlights the family/personal history in detail. It was actually supposed to be a floral sculpture. The family had seen one of these at an exhibition by the master stonemason. However, Kathrin Post-Isenberg decided on a different design due to her living situation and her first impression of the personalities: “The architecture and design of the self-built house consists of many square and rectangular shapes. Everything is clearly arranged and conveys a sense of uniformity. The parents also spoke very clearly about themselves, there were few extravagant formulations. They gave me structure.”

A clear and simple formal language now also characterizes her work. Four stone cubes rest on a rectangular base. All of them are connected to each other with a two-centimeter spacer. The choice of material is interesting: all the cubes are made of granite – the highlight: the artist used different types of granite. When dry, you would think that the sculpture was made from a single stone. When wet, it reveals its full beauty and you can see the differences. Four cubes represent four individuals. From Orion to Verde Candeias, each family member chose their own material. Post-Isenberg also left the arrangement of the cubes up to the family. Which cube stands for whom, however, remains a secret here. The base is formed by a dark impala, which is intended to convey strength and stability. All of the 160-centimeter-tall work’s STEINs were carved.

Sometimes others ask why the stele is uniformly gray. At first they don’t understand. But when the watering can is brought out, many can understand why this material was chosen. This is also human and reminds us that you first have to get to know people and families better in order to understand them. It is only when you get to the bottom of things that you can see their complexity. Kathrin Post-Isenberg’s family stele makes it clear what family can mean, but also what stonemasonry is all about! The end of our story also shows how important it is to pay attention to the needs of customers and provide advice: Interestingly, the father of the family later attended a sculpting course with the artist – he did not work on various head formations like many others, but on an art object made of angled cubes.

Find out more about the artist here.

05.12.2024

Nuremberg’s depot treasures restaged

Building design

Museum of the City of New York) can be considered one of the very first selfies. Photo: Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nuremberg

The exhibition “Light and Canvas – Photography and Painting in the 19th Century” at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg currently shows how photography developed into an independent branch of art. The show, which is well worth seeing, was equipped with works from the museum’s own depot. The main task was to find a frame typical of the period for many of the pictures and to […]

The exhibition “Light and Canvas – Photography and Painting in the 19th Century” at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg currently shows how photography developed into an independent branch of art. The show, which is well worth seeing, was equipped with works from the museum’s own depot. The main task was to find a frame typical of the period for many of the pictures and to restore the existing ones, as conservator Martin Tischler reports. (more…)