Embracing Modernism
Celebrities from the Stadtmuseum Berlin

The Berlin Secession pursued ambitious aims with its exhibitions from 1899. A pick of the best art of the day was clearly arranged in well-hung displays. The latest works by German artists took centre stage but there were also gems from the recent past and major paintings by European colleagues. They encompassed a wide spectrum of modernist styles including naturalism, symbolism, art nouveau, impressionism and pointillism. Most motifs were drawn from everyday life with a preference for portraits, interiors, landscapes and townscapes.

In this room too, key works from the Stadtmuseum Berlin Foundation await discovery. They were painted by influential figures who enriched the city’s art scene in the early 20th century. Canvases by Max Beckmann, Walter Leistikow, Theo von Brockhusen and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner illustrate the vitality and creativity of Berlin’s avant-garde. The highlight here is a striking portrait of the industrialist and art collector Walther Rathenau painted in Berlin in 1907 by the Norwegian Edvard Munch.