{"id":14225,"date":"2026-03-11T12:00:38","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T11:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/?p=14225"},"modified":"2026-05-07T21:02:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T19:02:38","slug":"kaethe-kollwitz-and-theater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/news\/kaethe-kollwitz-and-theater\/","title":{"rendered":"K\u00e4the Kollwitz and Theater"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row type=”vc_default” gap=”35″][vc_column width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”14982″ img_size=”full” css=””][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text css=””]Special exhibition from 21 February to 3 May 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

The K\u00e4the Kollwitz Museum Berlin is opening a new perspective on the life and work of one of Germany’s most important artists in the former Theater building of Charlottenburg Palace. The special exhibition \u2018K\u00e4the Kollwitz and Theater\u2019 focuses on a topic that has received little attention to date \u2013 K\u00e4the Kollwitz and her family’s affinity for the theater.<\/p>\n

Theater as part of everyday family life<\/strong>
\nDiary entries and letters to her son Hans document how visiting the theatre was a natural part of everyday family life \u2013 just like political discussions and artistic work. K\u00e4the Kollwitz and her family experienced the most fruitful period in Berlin’s theater history at first hand and attended numerous innovative productions by the great directors of their time, including Otto Brahm, Max Reinhardt and Leopold Jessner. From the naturalism of the late 19th century to the expressionist theater of the 1920s, they followed the stage closely. Dance, concerts, film and cabaret were also part of this rich cultural cosmos.<\/p>\n

Theater as a resonance chamber for artistic work<\/strong>
\nThe exhibition examines the influence these intense visual experiences had on K\u00e4the Kollwitz’s artistic work. Although she did not work directly for the theater, her oeuvre reflects a wide range of references to literary material, scenic situations and dramatic condensations. Theater is thus visible less as a concrete motif than as an intellectual resonance chamber for her work.<\/p>\n

Highlights of the exhibition<\/strong>
\nA large number of loans from public and private collections, newly catalogued and digitised archive material, and interdisciplinary perspectives clearly show how closely the life of the Kollwitz family was interwoven with one of the most productive phases in Berlin’s theater history. In addition to works by K\u00e4the Kollwitz, works by Ernst Barlach, Lovis Corinth, Georg Kolbe, August Macke, Max Liebermann, Ernst Oppler and Emil Orlik are also on display.<\/p>\n

Extensive loans and research work<\/strong>
\nThe exhibition comprises over 100 exhibits from 17 lenders, including the Alte Nationalgalerie SMB, Kupferstichkabinett SMB, Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin, Ernst Barlach Haus Hamburg, John Neumeier Stiftung Hamburg, Kollwitz Museum Cologne, and Tanzarchiv und Theaterwissenschaftliche Sammlung Cologne. It concludes three years of research by Kollwitz specialist Annette Seeler, which was carried out in collaboration with the museum.[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”14590″ img_size=”medium” css=””][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”14622″ img_size=”medium” css=””][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”14645″ img_size=”medium” css=””][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner]

<\/div>[vc_column_text css=””]Design and accompanying publication<\/strong>
\nThe young Berlin-based design team Jason Kittner and Meret Schmiese are responsible for the architectural and graphic design of the exhibition. An accompanying catalogue with over 200 illustrations and approx. 240 pages will be published by Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg, which will deepen the dialogue between visual arts and performing arts.<\/p>\n

Funding and support<\/strong>
\nThe exhibition, catalog and educational programme have been made possible by the generous support of the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation<\/a>, the Rudolf-August Oetker Foundation<\/a> and the Richard Stury Foundation<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text]

<\/div>[vc_zigzag]
<\/div>[vc_column_text css=””]Educational programmes for the special exhibition
\nFOR SCHOOL CLASSES
\nSchool project day<\/a> for the special exhibition
\nBookable from 21 February to 3 May 2026<\/p>\n

FOR ADULTS
\nSlow Art tour<\/a>
\nThursday, 30 April 2026, 5 p.m.
\nRegistration required.<\/p>\n

FOR ADULTS
\nGuided tours with guest curator Dr Annette Seeler<\/strong>
\nTuesday, 31 March, 14 and 28 April 2026, 4 p.m. each day
\nParticipation is included in the museum admission price.
\nNo registration required.<\/p>\n

FOR ADULTS
\nTour in German Sign Language (DGS)<\/strong>
\nSunday, April 12, 2026, 3:00 p.m.
\nParticipation is included in the museum admission fee.
\nRegistration required: bildung@kaethe-kollwitz.de<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Events related to the special exhibition<\/strong>
\nLecture by Dr Norbert Jaron
\nMax Reinhardt and the theater of the early 20th century
\nThursday, 12 March 2026, 7 p.m.
\nAdmission \u20ac8.00 | concessions \u20ac5.00
\nNo registration required.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“We haven’t seen ‘Penthesilea’ yet”<\/p>\n

Starting February 21, the special exhibition in the former Theater building of Charlottenburg Palace sheds light for the first time on K\u00e4the Kollwitz’s passion for theater and its influence on her work. It also shows her family’s close connections to the stage during a formative phase of Berlin’s theater history.<\/p>\n

Exclusive guided tours with guest curator Dr Annette Seeler
\nTuesday, March, 31 and April 14 and 28, 2026,
\n16:00 each day
\nNo registration required. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14980,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[95,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive-exhibition","category-news","category-95","category-14","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14225"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16270,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14225\/revisions\/16270"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaethe-kollwitz.berlin\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}