Lichtwark revisited

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the death of the Hamburger Kunsthalle's first director, Alfred Lichtwark (1852 - 1914). One of Lichtwark's most far-sighted ideas was to invite artists to come to Hamburg and create paintings or portraits in situ, which then entered the collection of the Kunsthalle.

Having been appointed director of the museum in 1886, Alfred Lichtwark soon recognized that the city of Hamburg could provide interesting subject matter for young, 'modern' artists. As he was particularly keen to introduce Hamburg viewers to contemporary art, he decided to establish a 'Collection of Paintings from Hamburg'. Among the artists Lichtwark commissioned for this project were Ernst Eitner and Arthur Illies from Hamburg, leading German artists such as Max Liebermann, Lovis Corinth and Max Slevogt, as well as French artists such as the Post-Impressionists Pierre Bonnard and Édouard Vuillard. To this end, Édouard Vuillard and Pierre Bonnard spent several weeks in Hamburg in 1913. The paintings they created during this time, including Bonnard's Evening at the Uhlenhorster Fährhaus (1913) and Vuillard's View from Binnenalster (1913), are among the most important works in the Hamburger Kunsthalle collection.

"Lichtwark revisited" takes up and expands on Lichtwark's ingenious idea. The Kunsthalle has invited six international contemporary artists to create works that relate to the city of Hamburg in some way. The newly created pieces will be presented alongside the works that were originally commissioned by Alfred Lichtwark; it will be particularly interesting to see how the view of Hamburg has changed and how today's artists respond to the city.

The story of the Sammlung von Bildern aus Hamburg now continues with the latest contributions by six contemporary artists. Some of them were already familiar with Hamburg, while others have come to the city for the first time to participate in this project. The works commissioned by Alfred Lichtwark for the Hamburger Kunsthalle collection were above all paintings; a hundred years later, the range of artistic media employed by the invited artists has expanded to include photography, film, installation and graphic art.