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31/3/2011

The Art of the Enlightenment

National Museum of China, Beijing

German museums unveil art from the Enlightenment in the largest museum building in the world, at Tian'anmen Square, while Stiftung Mercator kicks off accompanying series of events: ‘Enlightenment in Dialogue’

Berlin – 1 April 2011 marks the official opening of ‘The Art of the Enlightenment’, a major exhibition jointly organized by three German museum bodies – the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen Munich – together with the National Museum of China. The sweeping exhibition on the art of the Enlightenment is the first international exhibition to be hosted at the soon-to-reopen National Museum of China, which is currently undergoing refurbishment and expansion to make it the largest museum building in the world. The exhibition, which falls under the joint auspices of President Hu Jintao and President Christian Wulff, will be on show in Beijing for twelve months.

The official series of events accompanying the exhibition, entitled ‘Enlightenment in Dialogue’, is organized by Stiftung Mercator and its partner, the National Museum of China, after being initiated by the German embassy in China, with support from the Chinese Ministry of Culture. The programme consists of five dialogue blocks and will run for the entire duration of the exhibition from spring 2011 to spring 2012. The first dialogue will take place on Saturday, 2 April 2011, under the heading ‘The Art of the Enlightenment – the history of an exhibition’. The creators behind the exhibition – director generals and curators – will speak on the genesis of the exhibition, the locations of the respective collections containing the artworks on display, as well as explaining how they came to choose this particular topic for the exhibition. On top of the programme of events at the National Museum of China itself, Stiftung Mercator is also holding a series of salon discussions on the topic of enlightenment in association with various other Chinese partners.
Complete listings are available at: www.aufklaerung-im-dialog.de.

A further partner to the exhibition is BMW Group which will be enriching the project in a variety of ways, with such accompanying events as the ‘The Music of the Enlightenment’ series, curatorial exchange programmes and a youth congress.

The broad spectrum of the collections of the three German museum associations that have joined forces in the project actually have their deep historical roots in the culture of collecting and the European artistic landscape of the Enlightenment itself. Among the just under 600 loans on show are masterpieces by Chodowiecki, Friedrich, Gainsborough, Goya, Graff, Greuze, Hogarth, Kauffmann, Pesne, Piranesi, Tischbein, Vernet and Watteau. Spread over 2700 m², the exhibition presents the entire artistic spectrum of the arts of the Enlightenment – ranging from masterpieces in painting, sculpture, drawings and prints, through to crafts and fashion and even exquisite scientific instruments.

The Chinese partners have been convinced to embark on a collaboration with the three major German museum bodies thanks to existing confident ties, built up over many years. For Berlin, Dresden and Munich ‘The Art of the Enlightenment’ is the logical continuation of their common involvement in China that began in 2005 with the photographic exhibition ‘Humanism in China’ and continued in 2008 with the exhibitions ‘Living Landscapes: A Journey through German Art’ and ‘Gerhard Richter’ held at the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC).

The exhibition is a component of the Sino-German ‘Communiqué on the Comprehensive Advancement of the Strategic Partnership’, signed by Wen Jiabao and Angela Merkel in July 2010 in Beijing. It has received significant support and funding from the German Foreign Office.

Press contacts
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin:
Mechtild Kronenberg,
kommunikation@smb.spk-berlin.de

Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden:
Dr. Stephan Adam, presse@skd.museum

Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen Munich:
Tine Nehler, presse@pinakothek.de

Stiftung Mercator:
Marisa Klasen, klasen@stiftung-mercator.de
Tel. +49 (0) 201 – 245 22 53

German Foreign Office:
Theresea Schönfeld, presse@diplo.de
Tel. +49 (0)30 – 1817 2056

BMW Group:
Thomas Girst, thomas.girst@bmwgroup.com
Tel. +49 (0) 89 – 382 24753

Additional information on the exhibition, the museums involved and the event series organized by Stiftung Mercator is available in the press area at: www.kunstderaufklaerung.de

Image: Caspar David Friedrich: Dolmen in the Snow, 1807
© Staatlich e Kunstsammlungen Dresden, photo: Jürgen Karpinski

Opening 1 April 2011

National Museum of China
16, East Chang’an Street, Dongcheng District
Beijing 100006, China

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