Friends on Tour: Cologne and Düsseldorf
Friends on Tour: Cologne and Düsseldorf
Friends on Tour: Cologne and Düsseldorf
Friends on Tour: Cologne and Düsseldorf
What a great tour!
A group of Friends have just returned from a thoroughly enjoyable week in Cologne and Düsseldorf. Led by the excellent art historian, Nirvana Romell, we visited some outstanding museums and our base in central Cologne enabled us to experience the city with the Christmas markets in full - and noisy - swing. Many of us had toured with the Friends in the past but we were joined by some first-timers, so several new friendships were also made. No one need be alone on a Friends' Tour.
At the Ludwig Museum with Picasso's Musketeer and Cupid (and a Friend of the Whitworth). The Ludwig houses the third largest collection of Picasso's work after Paris and Barcelona.
The first full day included a guided visit to the wonderful Museum Ludwig. The Ludwig is a tribute to civic pride and generosity, built in response to a gift, in 1976, by Peter and Irene Ludwig of their collection of over 350 works of modern and contemporary art. Once built, the Ludwig became the home of another important collection, that of Cologne lawyer, Josef Haubrich, who had gifted his art collection to the city of Cologne just after the end of World War II in 1946. To the amazement of Cologne's citizens, they found that Haubrich had continued to collect works by German Expressionists and other modernist artists even during the Nazi period, rescuing for future generations works by artists who had been persecuted and deemed “degenerate”.
Self Portrait: Käthe Kollwitz
After lunch, there was a visit to another example of Cologne's commitment to art, the Käthe Kollwitz Museum, set up in Cologne in 1985 to promote the work of this pioneering German artist who died in 1944. Many of her woodcuts and charcoal drawings are displayed in the museum, which owns the largest collection of Kollwitz’s work - others are currently on show at the Royal Academy in London.
Mixing music with art, that evening some of the group were in Cologne’s impressive concert hall (see the title image) to hear the world class Gürzenich Orchestra of Cologne, conducted by the celebrated and energetic Colombian Conductor, Andrés Orozco-Estrada. General consensus among us was that the highlight was Bruch's violin concerto. A young German violinist, Veronica Eberle, performed with passion - and wore a brilliant red dress!
A visit to Düsseldorf by train on the following day was an adventure - as well as a chance to admire, and envy, the German rail network. Düsseldorf's K20 Museum's ‘blockbuster’ exhibition of the work of Piet Mondrian, traced the evolution of his work from a traditional Dutch version of impressionism - trees, domestic scenes, watery landscapes - through to the abstract works which he completed in New York shortly before he died there in 1944. To what extent was Theosophy an influence on Mondrian or do we have to pay more attention to his visual experiments? What’s the connection in Mondrian’s later work between the “inner” and the “outer” world? What might he have done had he lived and his work continued to evolve? You can always rely on a group of Friends for a lively, although often inconclusive, debate!
There was more debate too on Thursday morning at the Wallraf-Richartz Museum back in Cologne. The exhibition, SUSANNA – Images of a Woman from the Middle Ages to MeToo, brought together over 90 works depicting the biblical story of the assault on Susanna by two judges to show that the abuse of power and sexual violence has been the subject of painting for centuries. Artemisia Gentileschi, van Dyck, Delacroix, Manet as well as contemporary female artists like Kathleen Gilje, and, much to our surprise, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, were represented and made us think about art markets, social mores, stylistic developments and, of course, the power of art to generate reflection and - we hope - change.
So after two provocative exhibitions, we headed to Cologne Cathedral, the sandstone giant, which dominates this central area of Cologne , perhaps expecting less controversy. It turned out differently! The interior was massive, of course, and many of the stained glass windows have had to be replaced over the years but one of the cathedral highlights was a large, and very colourful new window designed by the German artist, Gerhard Richter, and funded by the public - but hated by the Archbishop, who considered its abstract design to be inappropriate in a Christian Church, and who, as a result, insisted on having his chair moved away to the other side of the altar!
The atmosphere in the restaurant at our farewell dinner that evening was also tense, but fortunately, this had nothing to do with the Friends, nor with Archbishops! It so happened that Germany were playing a crucial football match while we ate and, although the German team won convincingly, it couldn’t prevent their elimination from the World Cup. Despite this, a good time was had by all, or at least by the Friends, with one of our members having an early birthday celebration, much to her surprise - it turned out we had got the wrong date!
Charlotte Perriand and Le Corbusier: Lounger LC4 (1928)
Never wishing to waste an opportunity, the following morning, and our last day, we found time to visit the Museum of Applied Art, the MAKK, for another guided tour, to look at examples of furniture and domestic appliances. Anyone who might have wondered about a visit to a gallery of this type was soon won over by the exhibits and our knowledgeable guide. I suspect that many of us went away wondering whether we could refurnish our homes (expensively) with some fine examples of Mid-century Modern.
Before we had to leave for the airport, there was just time for a last look at the Museum Ludwig or to MAKK - or, if you were so inclined, to head off to one of Cologne's many Christmas markets to stock up for the festive season back home!
After the blank years of the pandemic it was wonderful to be on the road with the Friends again. Grateful thanks to Distant Horizons for making all the tour bookings and to Nirvana Romell for both devising the tour and leading us so professionally. Work is already underway on planning our next tour with the destination to be confirmed in the New Year. Look out for further information here or in your email inbox.
What a great tour!
A group of Friends have just returned from a thoroughly enjoyable week in Cologne and Düsseldorf. Led by the excellent art historian, Nirvana Romell, we visited some outstanding museums and our base in central Cologne enabled us to experience the city with the Christmas markets in full - and noisy - swing. Many of us had toured with the Friends in the past but we were joined by some first-timers, so several new friendships were also made. No one need be alone on a Friends' Tour.
At the Ludwig Museum with Picasso's Musketeer and Cupid (and a Friend of the Whitworth). The Ludwig houses the third largest collection of Picasso's work after Paris and Barcelona.
The first full day included a guided visit to the wonderful Museum Ludwig. The Ludwig is a tribute to civic pride and generosity, built in response to a gift, in 1976, by Peter and Irene Ludwig of their collection of over 350 works of modern and contemporary art. Once built, the Ludwig became the home of another important collection, that of Cologne lawyer, Josef Haubrich, who had gifted his art collection to the city of Cologne just after the end of World War II in 1946. To the amazement of Cologne's citizens, they found that Haubrich had continued to collect works by German Expressionists and other modernist artists even during the Nazi period, rescuing for future generations works by artists who had been persecuted and deemed “degenerate”.
Self Portrait: Käthe Kollwitz
After lunch, there was a visit to another example of Cologne's commitment to art, the Käthe Kollwitz Museum, set up in Cologne in 1985 to promote the work of this pioneering German artist who died in 1944. Many of her woodcuts and charcoal drawings are displayed in the museum, which owns the largest collection of Kollwitz’s work - others are currently on show at the Royal Academy in London.
Mixing music with art, that evening some of the group were in Cologne’s impressive concert hall (see the title image) to hear the world class Gürzenich Orchestra of Cologne, conducted by the celebrated and energetic Colombian Conductor, Andrés Orozco-Estrada. General consensus among us was that the highlight was Bruch's violin concerto. A young German violinist, Veronica Eberle, performed with passion - and wore a brilliant red dress!
A visit to Düsseldorf by train on the following day was an adventure - as well as a chance to admire, and envy, the German rail network. Düsseldorf's K20 Museum's ‘blockbuster’ exhibition of the work of Piet Mondrian, traced the evolution of his work from a traditional Dutch version of impressionism - trees, domestic scenes, watery landscapes - through to the abstract works which he completed in New York shortly before he died there in 1944. To what extent was Theosophy an influence on Mondrian or do we have to pay more attention to his visual experiments? What’s the connection in Mondrian’s later work between the “inner” and the “outer” world? What might he have done had he lived and his work continued to evolve? You can always rely on a group of Friends for a lively, although often inconclusive, debate!
There was more debate too on Thursday morning at the Wallraf-Richartz Museum back in Cologne. The exhibition, SUSANNA – Images of a Woman from the Middle Ages to MeToo, brought together over 90 works depicting the biblical story of the assault on Susanna by two judges to show that the abuse of power and sexual violence has been the subject of painting for centuries. Artemisia Gentileschi, van Dyck, Delacroix, Manet as well as contemporary female artists like Kathleen Gilje, and, much to our surprise, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, were represented and made us think about art markets, social mores, stylistic developments and, of course, the power of art to generate reflection and - we hope - change.
So after two provocative exhibitions, we headed to Cologne Cathedral, the sandstone giant, which dominates this central area of Cologne , perhaps expecting less controversy. It turned out differently! The interior was massive, of course, and many of the stained glass windows have had to be replaced over the years but one of the cathedral highlights was a large, and very colourful new window designed by the German artist, Gerhard Richter, and funded by the public - but hated by the Archbishop, who considered its abstract design to be inappropriate in a Christian Church, and who, as a result, insisted on having his chair moved away to the other side of the altar!
The atmosphere in the restaurant at our farewell dinner that evening was also tense, but fortunately, this had nothing to do with the Friends, nor with Archbishops! It so happened that Germany were playing a crucial football match while we ate and, although the German team won convincingly, it couldn’t prevent their elimination from the World Cup. Despite this, a good time was had by all, or at least by the Friends, with one of our members having an early birthday celebration, much to her surprise - it turned out we had got the wrong date!
Charlotte Perriand and Le Corbusier: Lounger LC4 (1928)
Never wishing to waste an opportunity, the following morning, and our last day, we found time to visit the Museum of Applied Art, the MAKK, for another guided tour, to look at examples of furniture and domestic appliances. Anyone who might have wondered about a visit to a gallery of this type was soon won over by the exhibits and our knowledgeable guide. I suspect that many of us went away wondering whether we could refurnish our homes (expensively) with some fine examples of Mid-century Modern.
Before we had to leave for the airport, there was just time for a last look at the Museum Ludwig or to MAKK - or, if you were so inclined, to head off to one of Cologne's many Christmas markets to stock up for the festive season back home!
After the blank years of the pandemic it was wonderful to be on the road with the Friends again. Grateful thanks to Distant Horizons for making all the tour bookings and to Nirvana Romell for both devising the tour and leading us so professionally. Work is already underway on planning our next tour with the destination to be confirmed in the New Year. Look out for further information here or in your email inbox.
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