09/10/2026 - 31/12/2029

Can You Imagine? Part II & III | The Modern Art Collection

PART II, Art from 1945 onwards

From 8 October 2026 | Rooms 11–13, 15–17

The second part of the exhibition focuses on art from 1945 onwards. Experiences of violence in the wake of the Second World War are powerfully conveyed in works by Francis Bacon and Georg Baselitz; these are juxtaposed with works by the artists Marlene Dumas and Ida Applebroog, whose art explore powerlessness and the abuse of power. Yet the power and potential of creativity and imagination are also continually reinterpreted by successive generations of artists. A separate exhibition space is dedicated to Joseph Beuys. Educational activities form part of the exhibition in every room.

PART III, Art from 1900 onwards and complete presentation

From 10 December 2026 Rooms 1-17, 27-35

The third part of the exhibition is devoted to modern art and, in the east wing (Rooms 27 and 28), presents for the first time the newly acquired eight-channel video installation "Universal Tongue" by Anouk Kruithof, alongside a themed room exploring dance in art.

From the pioneering works of the avant-garde artists at the dawn of the 20th century, the galleries in the west wing showcase masterpieces by artists including Paula Modersohn-Becker, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, through the Expressionists to the Bauhaus and Surrealism, in new cross-genre dialogues between painting, textiles, sculpture and photography, complemented by pointed interventions from post-war and contemporary art. Under the title ‘Visiting the Bauhaus’, the Ann and Jürgen Wilde Foundation presents, in Room 7, photographs by Florence Henri and Alfred Ehrhardt, characterised by a free interpretation of the Bauhaus design principles of space, rhythm, form, structure, and contrast. Max Beckmann, one of the most significant painters of the 20th century, has also been given his own space for the first time since 2022, which provides a concentrated overview of his incomparably prolific and versatile body of work.