In 2024, the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin has special exhibitions of Modernist art saved from destruction in the 1930s, original Impressionist prints, and drawings of Renaissance Rome.
In 2024, the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin’s Kulturforum will stage several special temporary exhibitions of prints, drawings, and other graphic art on paper. The Rescued Modernism exhibition shows some of the works that were saved in the 1930s when many pieces were destroyed as “degenerate art”. The Other Impressionism exhibition is of the often ignored and forgotten prints produced by the impressionist artists of the late 19th century. The Allure of Rome exhibition shows some of the drawings Maarten van Heemskerck made when visiting the Eternal City in 1532. Lastly, a special exhibition by trainees from the Kupfterstichkabinett on the backstories of a variety of works.
Kupferstichkabinett / Museum of Prints and Drawings
The Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin is the largest collection of prints and drawings in Germany and the fourth largest in the world. Its collection of 550,000 prints and 100,000 drawings spans a thousand years and ranges from Andy Warhol to DĂĽrer and illuminated manuscripts.
Due to the fragility of the works, no items are on permanent display. However, visitors enjoy frequently changing temporary exhibitions and the possibility to request viewings of specific works. These exhibitions are usually in the exhibition space of the Kulturforum right next to the Gemäldegalerie of old masters’ paintings. Admission is usually included in Kulturforum day tickets and museum passes but sometimes separate tickets are sold for the exhibitions.
Special Temporary Exhibitions in the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin 2024
The top temporary special exhibitions in the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin in 2024 are:
Rescued Degenerate Art Exhibition in the Kupferstichkabinett Berlin in 2024
Rescued Modernism. Masterpieces from Kirchner to Picasso / Die gerettete Moderne. Meisterwerke von Kirchner bis Picasso
2 February – 21 April 2024
In 1937, large numbers of Modernist works of art were removed from Berlin’s Kupferstichkabinett as part of the Nazis’ nationwide campaign against “Degenerate Art”. The curator of the museum at the time, Willy Kurth (1881–1963), made courageous efforts to save hundreds of works from being destroyed.
Drawing on the 2023 publication Die Aktion “Entartete Kunst” 1937 im Berliner Kupferstichkabinett by Anita Beloubek-Hammer, this exhibition gathers together a selection of key works to reveal what these actions were able to save in 1937. The show also features works by Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, George Grosz, Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Wassily Kandinsky, Käthe Kollwitz, Henri Matisse, Edvard Munch, and Pablo Picasso, illustrating the impressive breadth of the museum’s collection of Modernist art at the time.
A special exhibition of the Kupferstichkabinett – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Drawings of Rome in the Kupferstichkabinett
The Allure of Rome. Maarten van Heemskerck Draws the City / Faszination Rom. Maarten van Heemskerck zeichnet die Stadt
26 April – 4 August 2024
In 1532, the Dutch artist Maarten van Heemskerck (1498–1574) set off on a trip to Rome. His five-year sojourn in the city led to the production of a large number of works, including some 160 drawings that ended up in the collection of the Berlin Kupferstichkabinett, which now, 450 years after the death of the artist, are being placed on display in their entirety for the very first time.
During his forays through Rome, van Heemskerck visited art collections and ancient gardens, made pilgrimages to holy sites, and filled his sketchbook with drawings. He captured vast panoramas as well as close-up, detailed views and made sketches of ancient sculptures and Renaissance frescos. In the process, he accrued an extensive repertoire of motifs that he was then able to draw on in his own artistic production over the remainder of his life, and which today represent an important resource on the visual culture of Renaissance Rome.
In addition to virtuosic drawings, the presentation is capped off by paintings, books, prints, and plaster casts taken from various Berlin collections and museums throughout Germany and the world.
A special exhibition of the Kupferstichkabinett – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin in collaboration with the Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History, Rome.
(Un)seen Stories in the Kupferstichkabinett
(Un)seen Stories
30 May – end of August 2024
For the fifth time, the trainees of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz are curating their own joint exhibition.
This multi-collection display in the special exhibition space of the Kupferstichkabinett focuses on the stories that objects tell through their external appearance and on their invisible backstories.
The show presents the methodologies of museum work that enable the invisible histories of artworks and artifacts to be revealed. Allowing visitors to explore object histories by gaining a look behind the scenes of museum work.
A special exhibition of the trainees of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz.
Impressionist Prints in the Berlin Kupferstichkabinett in 2024
The Other Impressionism / Der andere Impressionismus
September 2024 – January 2025
Manet’s In the Conservatory at the Alte Nationalgalerie is often vaunted as the first Impressionist painting to be acquired by a museum anywhere in the world – but the real sensation of presenting Modernist art in the museum took place 15 years earlier. In 1881, the Kupferstichkabinett and the Nationalgalerie exhibited an incredible 740 works of hitherto unshown Impressionist printmaking, which laid the foundations for a collection of modern art at the museum.
Largely ignored to this day, printmaking was the key medium for Impressionism when it came to tackling and experimenting with modern themes. The exhibition shows works by Corot, Daubigny, Manet, Degas, Morisot, Pissarro, Sisley, Renoir, Whistler, Corinth, Liebermann, Slevogt, and many more. Selected etchings by painters such as Rembrandt, as well as Pictorialist photographs accompany the selection, expanding the breadth of the show.
More on the Berlin State Museums (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin):
Note new opening times for many Berlin museums from mid-April 2024. Timeslot reservations are essential only for the Caspar David Friedrich exhibition (until 4 August 2024) but sensible (and sometimes needed in busy periods!) for the Alte Nationalgalerie, Gemäldegalerie, Neue Nationalgalerie, Neues Museum, and Pergamon – Das Panorama. (The Pergamon Museum itself is closed until 2027!). Timeslots are released only a few weeks in advance. Online tickets are available from GetYourGuide, which seems to have timeslots available when SMB has already sold out. Many passes and multi-museum tickets are again sold (Kulturforum / Museums Island). Individual museum ticket prices range from €8 to €14 (€20 for special exhibitions). Online tickets are skip-the-line — go directly to the gallery entrance to scan the code but pick up free audioguides first.
For more general information on the Berlin State Museums:
- Top National Museums and Galleries in Berlin (brief overview)
- Berlin State Museums: What Is Seen Where? (a short description of the collections in the different museums)
- Opening Hours of Berlin State Museums (2024) — major changes from mid-April 2024!
- Ticket Prices for Berlin State Museums (prices for museums, temporary exhibitions, combination tickets, online time-slot reservations). Buying online from GetYourGuide is easy. A ticket with a QR or bar code is scanned directly at the entrance — no need to pass by the ticket desk (but pick up the free audio guide before entering).
- Save with the Berlin Museum Pass – 30 museums (including all the SMB museums) in three days for €32 – a fantastic savings deal.
- Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (official website in German & English).
News & Temporary Exhibitions:
- 2024: Overview of Top Berlin Exhibitions in 2024, Caspar David Friedrich in the Alte Nationalgalerie (tickets are selling out fast!), Frans Hals in the Gemäldegalerie, Neue Nationalgalerie (20th-century art) Hamburger Bahnhof Contemporary Art, Kupferstichkabinett (Prints and Drawings), and Photography Museum.
- Museums closed in 2024: The Pergamon Museum is closed until 2027 (some sculptures are on display in Das Panorama), the Museum Berggruen is closed until 2025 (much of its collection is traveling the world), the permanent collection of the German History Museum (Zeughaus) is closed but temporary exhibitions continue in the Pei Building.
More Museum Reviews and Museum-Specific Information:
- Alte Nationalgalerie with Caspar David Friedrich paintings (2024 special exhibition).
- Altes Museum with Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art.
- Ethnological and Asian Art Museums in the Humboldtforum.
- Friedrichswerdersche Kirche (free admission) with a collection of 19th-century German sculptures.
- Gemäldegalerie with its collection of German and Dutch Old Masters and Italian paintings.
- Kunstgewerbemuseum (Decorative Arts).
- Musical Instruments Museum near the Berliner Philharmonie.
- Neue Nationalgalerie — 20th-century art.
- Neues Museum with bust of Nefertiti.
- Pergamon Museum with Ishtar Gate — the whole Pergamonmuseum is closed from October 2023 until 2027. Some Greek sculptures are shown in the
- Pergamon Museum Panorama Exhibition with Asisi panoramic painting and Greek statues.
- Photography — Helmut Newton collection and historic photos.
Previous Temporary Exhibitions:
- 2023: Top Special Temporary Exhibitions in 2023 — overview, in the Kulturforum, in the Neue Nationalgalerie, on Museum Island, and the Museum of Photography.
- 2022: Top Special Temporary Exhibitions in 2022 — overview, in the Kulturforum (David Hockney), in the Neue Nationalgalerie, on Museumsinsel, Hamburger Bahnhof contemporary art, and the Museum of Photography.
- 2021: Top Special Temporary Exhibitions in 2021 — including the reopening of the Neue Nationalgalerie, as well as the Ethnological and Asian Art Museums in the Humboldt Forum.
- 2020: Highlights, in Kulturforum, on Museum Island, in the Hamburger Bahnhof, smaller museums, and the opening of the Humboldt Forum.
