Sebastian Bolesch
The Museum Barberini Celebrates 150 Years of Impressionism
This year, the Museum Barberini offers a wide range of activities celebrating the 150th anniversary of Impressionism, founded in 1874 with the first of the eight so-called “Impressionist” exhibitions in Paris. Visit this page to stay up to date on news, events, and dates surrounding the anniversary year at the Barberini!
A century and a half ago in 1874, thirty artists joined forces in Paris and showed their works from April 15 to May 15 at the studio of photographer Félix Nadar, far from the official exhibitions of the Academy. This circle of artists included Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Paul Cézanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Berthe Morisot, and Alfred Sisley—pioneers of French modernism, all of whom are represented with outstanding works in the Hasso Plattner Collection.
Hasso Plattner Colection
Claude Monet: The Mill at Limetz, 1888
Hasso Plattner Collection
Camille Pissarro: The Louvre, Morning, Spring, 1902
Two new paintings
The Museum Barberini kicked off the anniversary year with the presentation of two new acquisitions. In January 2024, Claude Monet’s The Mill at Limetz (1888) and Camille Pissarro’s The Louvre, Morning, Spring (1902), acquired by the Hasso Plattner Foundation in late 2023, joined the collection on view at the Museum Barberini. The Hasso Plattner Collection, exhibited in the museum on permanent loan from the Foundation, now comprises 113 masterpieces of French Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. With thirty-nine paintings by Claude Monet, it is the largest collection of Monet’s work in Europe outside of Paris, making Potsdam one of the most important centers of Impressionist landscape painting worldwide.
“We are delighted that the Foundation has acquired these outstanding examples of Impressionist painting. These purchases strengthen Potsdam’s position as a collection site where French Impressionist landscape painting can be experienced more comprehensively than almost anywhere else.”
“The expansion of the Hasso Plattner Collection goes hand in hand with the planning of numerous projects based on this singular collection—including major special exhibitions devoted to Vlaminck, Pissarro, and Signac. Our focus on the great colorists of French modernism is especially exciting in the context of the international year of Impressionism in 2024.”
Sebastian Bolesch
Sebastian Bolesch
Symposium, Music Walks, and more
Throughout the anniversary year, the Museum Barberini will highlight Impressionism and Post-Impressionism with a wide range of projects. On May 15 and 16, a public symposium will explore the significance of international Impressionism in light of current lines of questioning. Digital projects include an innovative music application for the collection, a project on provenance research, and an English-language version of the successful podcast Monet – Times of Change. The Barberini App and other digital content related to the collection will continue to be developed on an ongoing basis, while Impressionism will also be celebrated with tours, workshops, readings, and special visitors’ days. September 14, 2024, marks the opening of the exhibition Maurice de Vlaminck: Modern Artist Rebel, the first posthumous retrospective of Vlaminck’s work in a German museum.
