For years, the Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf's great treasure trove, was only open to the public to a limited extent due to renovation and modernization work; at times, the extensive collection could not be shown at all. The museum's doors only reopened in the fall of 2023. Since then, the public has been able to see completely new arrangements in 49 elegantly and experimentally designed rooms. Works of historical and contemporary art, crafts and design, light art and prints are brought together in a chronological tour through the exhibition.
The museum's collection impresses with its diversity and quality and is estimated to contain more than 130,000 objects. But the curators around General Director Felix Krämer have shown courage. They leave gaps, both in terms of content and space. This gives the guests and the art room to breathe. Around 800 works from eleven centuries from various continents have made it into the new collection presentation, which extends over two floors in the U-shaped building. The new centerpiece is the Bronner Hall with the main and core work of the collection, Peter Paul Rubens' "The Assumption of Mary", which was painted by the founder of the collection, the unforgotten Elector Jan Wellem (1658-1716) and his art-loving wife Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici.
Rubens' almost gigantic oil painting is not embedded in the other works by Flemish masters in the collection, but hangs next to the "Earth Cloth" by Ghanaian sculptor El Anatsui from 2003, made from colorful aluminum bottle caps. An almost iconically shaped staircase also delights the eye and leads on through the newly created, constantly surprising course. For example, it leads past an artfully designed rococo dress made of silk damask, through a dense hanging of works from the world-famous Düsseldorf School of Painting as well as to Richter, razors and rhinos. The latter are small rhinos that are aimed at young visitors and combine a visit to the art gallery with a lot of adventure. For example, in the children's rooms specially designed for the little ones in the middle of the tour. The free Kunstpalast app, which also offers augmented reality elements for more intensive engagement with the art, invites children and adults to take part in various tours.
The series of sensational special exhibitions will continue after the reopening of the collection. They will continue to take place in the east wing, which also leads to another highlight of the building, the chamber music hall named after Robert Schumann. Glass art will also still be on display in the Kunstpalast in 2024 with the reopening of the museum's own glass collection.
Club as a museum piece
With the long - and for years unprecedented - exhibition route through the Kunstpalast along Düsseldorf and international art history, the hunger for a break comes naturally. The new Kunstpalast with the Anna Maria Café and Restaurant also offers plenty of space for this with a good view over the palace grounds.The Creamcheese room, a legendary Düsseldorf underground club from the 1960s, also invites you to linger late into the evening with drinks and music on Fridays and Saturdays.
