Research and Publications

Before an exhibition is mounted at the Museum Barberini, a public symposium is held with internationally renowned experts who present and discuss their most recent research on questions relating to the exhibition subject. Their papers are later included as essay in exhibition catalogs that are published by Prestel.

The interviews with experts conducted in advance of the exhibitions at the Museum Barberini provide in-depth insights into art and a range of different topics. All films can be viewed in our media library.

Each exhibition at the museum is accompanied by an extensive catalog that is published by Prestel and contains essays that are based on the papers given at the symposia and that reflect the current state of scholarship. The Barberini Studies series provides documentation of specially themed exhibitions. The catalog Impressionism: The Hasso Plattner Collection relates the history of Impressionism through over 110 paintings from the collection.

Researching the provenance of the works in the Hasso Plattner Collection is one of the central and ongoing tasks of the museum. Following the 1998 Washington Principles, the Museum Barberini looks into the history of each painting as well as its ownership during the Nazi period. The current state of the research is constantly being updated on our website. The Museum Barberini organizes conferences on the subject in collaboration with the Wildenstein Plattner Institute in Paris.

Art historical research and transfer of knowledge are the central concerns of the Museum Barberini. The museum works with museums, foundations, universities, and other research institutes both in Germany and abroad to make individual projects possible. Employees of the Museum Barberini also teach at universities on a regular basis and are thus able to introduce students to museum work and art history.