This is the Modern World

THIS IS THE MODERN WORLD. Breakthroughs in Art 1900–1960 is a reinterpretation of the modern art collection, which, with over 3,000 paintings, sculptures, photographs, prints and drawings, ranks among the most significant in Germany. Through some 125 selected works – including well-known highlights and special new acquisitions – the exhibition illustrates the wealth of new ideas and approaches, as well as the break with existing traditions in the art of these six decades, which were marked by extraordinary upheavals in culture and society.

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A great diversity of approaches becomes apparent within the various modernist trends. Expressionism is embodied by iconic works produced by members of artist groups such as »Die Brücke« and »Der Blaue Reiter«, and the École de Paris is represented by painters including Sonia Delaunay-Terk, Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso. Also featured are pioneers of early modernism such as Edvard Munch, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Lovis Corinth, Max Beckmann and Anita Rée. These are joined by examples from the Bauhaus school and Surrealism as well 
as works exemplifying the psychologically charged realism of the New Objectivity and the Art Informel of the post-war era. New styles of abstraction and representation evolved as a consequence of people’s changing understanding of nature and technology, society and human existence under the influence of the latest developments in psychology, philosophy and politics – including Nazi ideology. 
A gallery of works by Hamburg artists supplements the panorama of international modernism with some regional perspectives. Over the course of the show, a changing selection of drawings, prints and photographs from the museum’s Prints and Drawings Collection will offer further insights into the artists’ working methods.

Curator

• Toby Kamps (Head of the Modern Art Collection & Exhibition Curator for Modern Art)

Curatorial Traineeship

• Angelina Isaak