Max Ernst Museum

Building

The complex of museum buildings is a combination of architecture of the 19th and 21st centuries: not far from the Augustusburg and Falkenlust palaces, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List , the park has a three-story complex of the Brühler Pavillon, built in the 19th century in the style of classicism and included in the list today monuments of architecture; This pavilion was expanded by erecting a central glass pavilion and a “hanging plateau” above the entrance. The basements were also rebuilt - they became additional rooms for exhibitions and other events. During the construction, the pavilion served as a home for a tourist restaurant, opened in 1844 - at the same time as the construction of the Cologne - Bonn railway line - and which became a well-known recreational area around the city of Bruhl. For the implementation of the project, within the framework of which the old building was harmoniously written into the requirements for modern exhibition spaces, the team of architects received an award in the field of modern architecture - as “an exemplary building in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.”

The laying of the first stone in the foundation of the museum building - designed by architects Thomas van den Valentin (born 1945) and Seyed Mohammad Oreisi (born 1959) - took place in 2002; the construction itself was completed in the fall of 2004. On the occasion of Tag des offenen Denkmals Day, the building was first opened to the general public. The separate Dorothea Tanning-Saal, named after Max Ernst’s fourth wife, is located in the basement of the museum and, among other things, is now the venue for the Brühler Schlosskonzerte concert series, which began in 1958.

Collection

The current collection of the Max Ernst Museum in Bruhl covers about seventy Ernst's creative years: from Dada and participation in the surrealist movement in France to his return to Europe after World War II , in 1953. In addition to the early paintings, the museum has at its disposal the so-called “Schneppenheim collection” (Sammlung Schneppenheim), which includes almost all the graphic works created by Ernst. The museum itself considers the center of its collection 36 paintings of the D-paintings series, which were birthday gifts from Ernst to his wife, artist Dorothea Tuning. An important part of the collection is the fund of more than 700 documentary photographs that traces the life of the artist.

Kreissparkasse Köln Bank handed over the collection of sculptures to the museum for permanent storage: a collection of more than 70 sculptures, including the large Capricorn sculpture (Capricorn, 1948), contains sculptural works created by Ernst over several decades; at one time they were part of the artist’s personal collection. Hoping to take a deeper look at Max Ernst’s work, the museum named after him changes his permanent exhibit every six months, supplementing it with exhibits from other state, municipal or private collections (the Schausammlung im Wechsel concept).

So in 2009, the museum received the painting "Arizona desert after rain" (Arizona desert, circa 1948) from the German entrepreneur Waldemar Croon (Waldemar Croon, 1916-2013). In 2010, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the museum, Max Ernst Gesellschaft acquired from a private collection - “for a six-figure sum” - the painting “Nocturne IV” (Nachtstück, 1967); she became a gift to the gallery on her birthday. In 2012, the Stiftung Max Ernst Foundation received one of the artist’s early paintings - as a gift, according to the will of the Oberle family. The portrait of the boy, painted in oil, depicts Theo Oberle (born 1909), the son of Wilhelm Oberle, who was a senior teacher at the Bruhl municipal gymnasium. In 2013, the doctor and collector Peter Schnappenheim presented the museum with an oil painting “XX Century” (The Twentieth Century, 1955).

From March to August 2006, the museum exhibited the painting “La Forêt”, leased to him by the Paris Cazeau-Béraudière gallery: although Werner Spies confirmed its authenticity, in 2010, the forger Wolfgang Beltracchi, born. 1951) called her one of his many fakes. Since May 1, 2006, art critic Achim Sommer has been leading the museum. In addition to the main activities related to the heritage of Ernst, the museum regularly hosts exhibitions of contemporary art - both thematic (group) and personal.

• Lembrook Museum

• Chris van Uffelen: Museumsarchitektur. Ullman, Potsdam 2010, ISBN 978-3-8331-6058-5 . S. 224-227.
• Andreas Rossmann. Max Ernst Museum: Van den Valentyn Architektur, SMO Architektur . - Köln: W. König, 2005 .-- 63 p. - ISBN 9783883759494 . - ISBN 388375949X .

• Max Ernst Museum Brühl des LVR (German) . rheinischemuseen.de . Thilo Martini MA / Landschaftsverband Rheinland. Date accessed August 9, 2019.
• Max Ernst Museum: Public Institution . artfacts.net . ArtFacts.Net GmbH . Date accessed August 29, 2019.