British Pop Art

A wealth of masterpieces from the Heinz Beck Collection

27.01.2019 bis 12.05.2019

England is considered to have been the cradle of Pop Art and produced numerous unusual positions on the phenomenon of the then truly revolutionary new art movement. In addition to motifs from everyday life, it is above all the idea that everyone is able to possess art. Copious masterpieces were created through the medium of printmaking, circulation art and multiples.

Düsseldorf lawyer Heinz Beck, whose collection is housed in the Wilhelm Hack Museum in Ludwigshafen, has gathered an outstanding collection of works from this period. His preference for reproduced work reflects the idea of a democratisation of art that went down in history with the catchphrase of art for all. For the first time, LUDWIGGALERIE Schloss Oberhausen presents a selection of British Pop Art from this unique collection along with its special and individual traits.

The exhibition focuses on the sculpture from the Ludwig Collection which has hitherto been regarded as isolated. Other instructions of Mary are grouped around this figure, the later life of the adult Mary is illuminated and other important motifs from the adoration of Anne are shown.

Anne Teaches Mary to Read – the Cult of Anne around 1500

The Instruction of Mary from the Peter and Irene Ludwig Collection in cooperation with the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum Aachen

10.02.2019 bis 12.05.2019

The starting point for the iconographic exhibition Anne Teaches Mary to Read – the Cult of Anne around 1500 is a highly qualitative and unique French stone sculpture dating from the mid-15th century belonging to the Peter and Irene Ludwig Collection. This sculpture was on permanent loan to the Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum from 1994 and became the property of the City of Aachen in 2011 through the legacy of Irene Ludwig. It depicts how the enthroned Anne teaches the little Maria standing next to her to read, a pictorial theme that developed in the context of the adoration of Anne. The subject appeared in manuscripts as early as the 13th and early 14th centuries, gaining increasing attention in the late Middle Ages and the early modern period with the increased popularity of the veneration of Anne. It was only in the Baroque period however that the theme gained general popularity which lasted until the 19th century. In the period around 1500, when the cult of Anna reached its zenith, the teaching of Mary was still a rare pictorial theme compared to the much more popular and frequent depiction of the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne.

The exhibition focuses on the sculpture from the Ludwig Collection, which has hitherto been regarded as isolated. Other teachings of Mary are grouped around this figure, the later life of the adult Mary is illuminated and other important motifs from the veneration of Anne are shown.

HOLLYWOOD ICONS

Greta Garbo, Humphrey Bogart, Alfred Hitchcock & Co. Photographs from the John Kobal Foundation

19.05.2019 bis 15.09.2019

Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford or Clark Gable and many others remain Hollywood icons to this day. The movie industry of the 1920s to 1950s created great stars and skilfully marketed them. Even today everyone is familiar with the recordings of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's or Marlon Brando's The Wild One.

In addition to influential stars and famous directors, the exhibition focuses on the portrait and still photographers who work unnoticed in the background. Their works are essential for the creation of a star image and for the promotion of cinema movies, and their millions of pictorial recordings spread the style that has been a symbol of Hollywood ever since.

A reunion with familiar faces from Judy Garland to Fred Astaire and from James Dean to Elizabeth Taylor, in which Hollywood comes to life in over 200 photographs. Presented by the John Kobal Foundation in collaboration with Terra Esplêndida.

The Struwwelpeter

Fridget-Philipp, Paulinchen and Johnny Head-in-Air between fascination and bugbear from 1844 until today

22.09.2019 bis 12.01.2020

Just look who is standing here, ugh the Struwwelpeter! Many children have grown up with this sentence introducing the story of the Struwwelpeter. In 1844, the psychiatrist Dr. Heinrich Hoffmann invents not only the story of the boy who does not let his hair nor his nails cut but also several other characters of this kind. Johnny Head-in-Air as well as the fidget are some of them that still have its impact on the German language usage until today. With his storytelling picture book Hoffmann creates a work which people appreciate but also criticize. It both fascinates and shudders readers until today.

The concept of the Struwwelpeter that Heinrich Hoffmann has created is adapted until today. For more than 150 years it inspires other artists to develop new variations of this classic. This exhibition in particular combines early drawings with current Struwwelpeter publications thereby stressing the wide range and topicality of this subject.

Once again, the LUDWIGGALERIE dedicates an extensive exhibition to an essential part of German picture book and illustration history.