Digitalguide

Transparent Museum

Transparent Museum

table of contents

INTRODUCTION

Whose voices are heard in the museum? What different perspectives do museum staff bring to a work of art? The “Transparent Museum” project explores the diverse viewpoints and memories of the museum team.

Whether in the technical workshop, managing collection storage, or planning exhibitions: as museum employees, we all engage with art and develop personal connections to it that go beyond purely art-historical interpretations. These individual perspectives take center stage here. In the middle of the room, selected works from the collection are displayed, each linked to specific stories and memories. The presentation changes regularly, continually highlighting new narratives and perspectives. For example, the technical exhibition manager explains the complexities of setting up an elaborate installation; an art educator demonstrates how art in the museum inspires visitors to get creative themselves; and the conservators share insights into the special relationship between collector and artwork.

By introducing the people and professions behind the exhibitions, the museum aims to reveal processes and structures that are usually hidden. While curators traditionally shape how art is presented and interpreted, this project makes all voices within the museum equally audible. Therefore, the “Transparent Museum” project space becomes a platform for storytelling and diverse perspectives, offering an alternative way of engaging with art.

Chapter Two

A STROKE OF LUCK FOR THE MUSEUM

August Macke, Stillleben mit Apfelschale und japanischem Fächer, 1911

Donation Jürgen Hall 2008

Photo: Reni Hansen

August Macke’s painting Stillleben mit Apfelschale und japanischem Fächer has been in the care of the Kunstmuseum Bonn for more than 30 years and is one of the highlights of the collection. In 2008, it almost left the museum permanently – but fortunate circumstances and a generous collector were able to prevent this loss. Here, the conservator Antje Janssen and the museum’s director Prof. Dr. Stephan Berg recount the history of this painting, its special connec­tion to the Kunstmuseum Bonn and to the collector Jürgen Hall.

"In 2008, I had only been at the Kunstmuseum Bonn for a very short time when I received the sad news that the lenders of the painting by August Macke, Stillleben mit Apfelschale und japanischem Fächer, were withdrawing this work from the Museum in order to auction it. 

It is a very important work by August Macke, because it very clearly shows the influence of Matisse on his oeuvre and, with the Japanese fan, also the influence of Japonism, which was important for the art scene at that time in the 10s and 20s of the 20th century. It was a catastrophe that was about to happen and that we could not have prevented. We had been offered to buy this work, but of course we didn't have the money. We knew that the work was worth over 1 million and we didn't even have ten percent of the price to buy it.  In the midst of this very threatening situation for us, a man called me whom I didn't know at all. He introduced himself as Jürgen Hall and told me unbelievable things, namely that he had not only bought this work at auction - for a respectable 1.6 million - but would also donate it to the museum unconditionally.

 

As a museum director in such a situation, I was initially suspicious as to what expectations might be attached to this offer. But I realized, and this is still true today, that there were no expectations. It really was purely a patronage act, which was driven by two reasons. The first reason was that Jürgen Hall had gone to school here in Bonn and also had a number of friends here in Bonn and Bad Godesberg. 

The second, even more important reason for us was that Jürgen Hall had the wonderful opinion that pictures must be seen in their context, where they can fully unfold their meaning. And that is certainly the case here at the Kunstmuseum Bonn. Apart from Münster, we have the largest collection of August Macke works in the world.

 This wonderful collaboration with Jürgen Hall has subsequently continued. In the same year that August Macke's painting returned to us, Jürgen Hall bought Emil Nolde's 1919 work “Nadia” at an auction and gave it to us as a permanent loan. Since then, we have been able to talk to Jürgen Hall about which works would be particularly attractive for the museum. We are a museum that also has an important collection of Gerhard Richter and when a large private collection came onto the market, we were able to arrange with Jürgen Hall for him to buy the important work “Zwei Schwestern” by Gerhard Richter from 1967.

This work is also significant for us because in this picture you can not only see the two sisters mentioned in the title - by the way, somewhat exposed - a motif from this very short, somewhat erotic phase by Gerhard Richter – but also a curtain in the background. This curtain, in turn, is part of our collection, so that the painting “Zwei Schwestern” forms a combination with this work.

 After the death of Jürgen Hall, who sadly passed away in 2021, this collaboration with the company Tabakwaren Hall continued thanks to his foster son Michael Reisen-Hall. In 2023, Michael Reisen-Hall bought the important painting by Alexey von Jawlensky, “Mädchen mit Zopf” from 1910, and, after lengthy consideration and discussions with us, gave us this work on permanent loan. The painting fits wonderfully into the context of August Macke and the Rhenish Expressionists.

So you could say that the whole story with Jürgen Hall, from the first donation to the Jawlensky loan, is one wonderful success story and also a very nice story that shows where you can develop a museum if you have collectors who see themselves as genuine and truly charitable patrons."

Antje Janssen, Head of Conservation

Photo: David Ertl

Unfortunately, this audio is only available in German. Scroll down for the English transcription.

“The painting Stillleben mit Apfelschale und japanischem Fächer by August Macke has been preserved and cared for by the conservator at the Kunstmuseum for over 20 years.

We have repeatedly taken measures to consolidate* it, as there were some detached paint layers that we stabilised. However, we also thought of preventative solutions: For example, we modified the frame and installed a special protective glass. This glass panel is anti-reflective and can absorb over 90 percent of UV radiation. In addition, because it is a laminated glass panel, a thin foil protects the painting from splinters in the event of mechanical damage.

For many years, we have accompanied the painting as couriers to different exhibitions. It was loaned very often and travelled to Berlin, Münster, Tübingen and Moscow. All these exhibitions contributed to making the work more famous and ultimately more valuable.

When we received a loan request from Japan, which is a completely different climate region, we also built a climate showcase for the painting. This creates a microclimate around the painting, which can help to buffer climatic changes. For a climatic showcase, all hygroscopic parts of the frame, especially the wooden parts, are tightly covered with self-adhesive aluminium foil. A non-absorbent backing is also applied – in this case made from a Macrolon panel – and all screw connections are secured with small rubber seals. In this way, you can ensure that a painting experiences the climatic changes very slowly, even if it travels to a completely different region – and the slower, the gentler it is for the painting.

In 2007, we were upset when we heard that the painting was to be sold, but we had to accept it. We didn’t see the painting for a long time afterwards and were very surprised when Jürgen Hall bought it at an auction in London and even donated it to us. That was really touching.

Of course, when the painting came back, we were curious to see what it looked like – and it had indeed changed. The first thing we noticed was that the glass panel was missing. The climate showcase had been cut open and the back side protection was removed. This is not unusual at first, since the works in auction houses are usually presented as authentic and pure as possible. However, in this case, the frame was also damaged: All four mitre joints – the corners of the frame where the wooden strips are glued together – were open. The frame had cuts, abrasions and dented areas. The painting also had suffered corrasion on the edges.

We re-glued the frame, fitted a new glass panel and provided a new protection on the back. We took good care of the painting so that it can now be admired again here in the museum.”

 

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*consolidate = stabilize, secure in its existence

hygroscopic = substances that attract and absorb water from their environment

*Macrolon sheets = The product name “Macrolon” is based on the so-called “polycarbonate”. This material is considered a highly complex synthetic consisting of solid carbons

Chapter One

LEBALYK'S JOURNEY & KATHARINA GROSSE

The stop-motion film Lebalyks Reise (Lebalyk’s Journey) tells the story of the butterfly Lebalyk, who is forced to leave its home due to the destruction and dangers of war.

The film was created between April and August 2024 as part of a workshop by art educator Dania D'Eramo and seven young people: Abdulrahman Almolhem, Hanna & Mariia Chainiuk, Sofiia Kolbacyk, Sofiia Korshykova, Eszter Mnich and Elisaveta Pryamonosova. The making-of documentary by Inga Krueger and Dania D’Eramo runs directly after Lebalyks Reise.

During the project, the young people dealt with their own experiences of flight and tried to translate their individual experiences into the story of Lebalyk. Inspired by the expressive and dynamic paintings of Katharina Grosse, the young artists created the scenery and characters for the film: they painted colourful background landscapes and crafted unique figures as avatars of themselves. In the film these avatars become Lebalyk’s companions and search for peace together.

The Making-of "Lebalyk's Journey"

Photo: Dania D'Eramo

Composition with kimbala and avatars from "Lebalyk's Journey"

Photo: Dania D'Eramo

Film Still from the Making-of "Lebalyk's Journey"

Film Still from the Making-of "Lebalyk's Journey"

From 25 April to 22 September 2024 the exhibition Katharina Grosse. Studio Paintings 1988–2023 was on view at Kunstmuseum Bonn. Katharina Grosse is internationally known for her expansive, dynamic artworks, with which she rethinks and expands the fundamental questions of painting.

Katharina Grosse’s powerful, brightly coloured paintings have a strong visual power. They also have inspired the art educators and participants of art workshops to experiment with colours, different techniques and structures. For example, the young people of the workshop Mitmach-Kunst-Koffer visited the exhibition together and created unique artworks that are shown in the film Lebalyks Reise.

 

Katharina Grosse, Untitled, 2002

Permanent loan Collection Kico

Photo: David Ertl

The presentation of the "Transparent Museum" room changes every 2-3 months. This digital guide grows with each presentation.

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