Dedicated citizens of Leipzig paved the way to a municipal collection of paintings, granting it the striking profile it has today. The works discussed here represent just a few highlights in a collection of paintings, which, in its entirety, traces 600 years of European art. In 1837 valuable endowments allowed the collection to grow to more than 3,000 items. Regrettably, however, a number of sales by the onset of the nineteen-twenties caused significant losses. The ban of certain artworks as “Entartete Kunst” during the Nazi Regime in 1937, and more losses in the Second World War also severely damaged the collection in ways that could not be compensated during the GDR era.
With the initial target to feature contemporary art, works by artists from previous centuries were added to the still novel collection in 1847. Since then works by Dutch 17th-century artists, which were particularly popular among private art collectors in Leipzig, have formed the focal point of our Old Masters Painting Collection. Counting almost 400 paintings, the particularity of the collection predominantly lies in its wealth of characteristic works by artists recognized as specialists in their field. Intimate everyday depictions, fascinating portraits, landscapes, architectural paintings and still lives frequently combine detailed portrayal with profound symbolism. By contrast, there is only a scarcity of Flemish paintings, which have never been central to Leipzig’s collections. Other valuable works include roughly 60 paintings by old German and Dutch master artists from the 15th and 16th centuries, and a scope of 18 unique pieces by both Lucas Cranach’s. Our scope of artworks with religious themes shows the transformation from late medieval perception of form into the thought traditions of Renaissance and Humanism. Portraits, nudes and landscapes mirror a new relationship to humans and their environment. In comparison with royal collections, art from Romance countries assumes a minor role in Leipzig, counting around 100 paintings by Italian, Spanish, and rare French masters from the period between the 15th to 18th century. Small-format works around Christian themes are most presently featured, which used to serve the purpose of private devotion. These paintings succeed in capturing the diversity of Italian art, and outline the prevalence of local art schools within economically and politically dominating city states and regions. A small portfolio of works represents 17th and 18th-century art, markedly portrait paintings. The trend of replacing portraits of royalty through character portraits of the bourgeoisie visibly documents the intellectual and social upheavals during the age of Enlightenment and the French Revolution. Special tribute has to be paid to the portrait collection of the Leipziger Kramermeister, given as a loan to the museum by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Leipzig.
A characteristic of the group of paintings Neue Meister is its width of approximately 750 artworks from the 19th century, which have undergone a metamorphosis from German Classicism / Romanticism to Impressionism / Symbolism. The collection provides a coherent overview of the most important art centres and schools in Germany, including Munich, Dusseldorf, Berlin, Dresden, and Leipzig. Next to single outstanding artworks, we hold some personal collections by most renowned artists. Two private endowments have made it possible for Leipzig to be in possession of a special collection of French paintings, which is unique among German museums. It encompasses artworks from the period about 1800, and intimate portrayals of nature and scenery in tradition of the Barbizon School. Our art collection from the first half of the twentieth century comprises oeuvre from Saxony that has undergone a shift from symbolism, with Max Klinger as a key figure, to veristic works of social criticism. Classic Modernist art is only present in a few characteristic works of Expressionism and New Objectivity. The establishment of the prestigious Max Beckmann Hall is to be attributed to the generosity of some lenders to the museum.
The GDR is represented in over 500 artworks. We showcase art from Berlin, Dresden and Halle, while local paintings from Leipzig form the broad epicentre, and are exhibited in a blending of various thematic and stylistic differences. In contrast, individual works (often art loans) insufficiently reveal West Germany’s post-1945 art culture. Recent purchases, generous endowments, and loans from private collectors are oriented towards creating a bridge between today’s artworks to those which younger generations of artists have produced since the 1990ies.
