Merkel attends opening of new art museum Baberini in Potsdam

Record ID: 165785

  • Title: Merkel attends opening of new art museum Baberini in Potsdam
  • Date: 20th January 2017
  • Summary: POTSDAM, GERMANY (JANUARY 20, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MUSEUM BARBERINI
  • Embargoed: 3rd February 2017 19:42
  • Keywords: Art museum Baberini opening Merkel Gates Plattner SAP
  • Location: POTSDAM, GERMANY
  • City: POTSDAM, GERMANY
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA0015ZVY061
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Microsoft founder Bill Gates were among the first guests at a newly opened art museum in Potsdam on Friday (January 20). At the centre of the "Museum Barberini" in the historic centre of the city is the art collection of Hasso Plattner, co-founder of software company SAP.
    "This house connects with the traditions of culture in the heart of this city. That that was at all possible and how it was possible teaches us a lot about our country. The cultural landscape in Germany shows a unique variety. And that is only possible because we have a lot of private and social engagement alongside state funding," said Merkel.
    Over the past 20 years, Plattner has gathered a collection of East German art and painting after 1989 as well as art historical masterpieces. Works by Edvard Munch and Gustave Caillebotte are represented alongside classic works of American modernism and American abstract art, such as paintings by Max Liebermann, Joan Mitchel and Gerhard Richter.
    Museum director and art historian Ortrud Westheider is planning to hold three rotating shows each year with works from the collection, supplemented by loans from private collections and museums in Germany and abroad. Furthermore, the work at the Museum Barberini is accompanied by academic exchanges, discussions, events, and digital art education.
    The Museum Barberini is opening with the exhibitions "Impressionism: The Art of Landscape" and "Modern Art Classics: Liebermann, Munch, Nolde, Kandinsky". A total of over 170 works will be on display from January 23 to May 28, 2017.
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