Projects of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar are funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Free State of Thuringia, represented by the State Chancellery of Thuringia, Department of Culture and the Arts.
"Cranach's torrent of images"
Klassik Stiftung Weimar presents Cranach collection in the Renaissance Hall of the Herzogin Anna Amalia Library
To the programme at the library festival
With the new permanent exhibition "Cranach's torrent of images", the Klassik Stiftung Weimar will be presenting exhibits from its internationally important Cranach collection from 4 June. The exhibition deals with questions that are 500 years old and more topical today than ever before: How are pictures and books used to fight and argue for the truth? How are they used in the service of power and opinion? And what are the possibilities and limits of images, books and spaces as knowledge media?
The large exhibition in the Renaissance Hall of the Herzogin Anna Amalia Library shows objects by Lucas Cranach the Elder, the Younger and their workshop. There is no medium that Cranach did not master and each is represented in the exhibition. Paintings as well as graphics, book illustrations as well as medals. Several thousand pictures left the studio, making Cranach the most productive artist of his time. Whether it was a portrait of a ruler or a biblical scene: like a modern service provider, Cranach understood how to meet the needs of his clients as efficiently as possible and with his unmistakable style. What emerged were media of politics and image cultivation in a time marked by upheaval. In four chapters - "Images of Truth", "An Image for All Cases", "From Image to Image", "Making Images" - the exhibition opens up the flood of images that was overwhelming for Cranach's contemporaries. With questions about opinion-forming, reach and fake news, it spans the arc from the people of the Reformation period to the present day. Highlights include the sumptuously illuminated Weimar Luther Bible or the portrait of Princess Sybille of Cleves as a bride.
A comprehensive catalogue accompanies the new permanent exhibition.
The Renaissance Hall in the historic building of the Duchess Anna Amalia Library offers "Cranach's torrent of pictures" an exhibition venue in authentic surroundings. The hall was built a few years after Cranach's death and is part of the oldest core of the building, a residential palace of the 16th century. The prince's original furnishings included Cranach paintings, which are still in the collection of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar. With the new permanent exhibition, they will return to the historic building.
On the occasion of the exhibition opening, the Klassik Stiftung Weimar invites you to the library festival "Translating worlds: 1 day, 3 exhibitions, 10 rooms" on Saturday, 4 June. In just one day, the new overall narrative of the Duchess Anna Amalia Library from the 16th century to the present can be experienced in a diverse programme. Three exhibition openings, new collection rooms and hands-on activities for young and old await visitors in the Historical Building and the Study Centre. Click here for the complete programme.
In addition to the exhibition opening and the library festival, the historical library can also be explored with the Weimar+ app: In addition to the new tour through the Rococo Hall, an audio tour offers exciting information about the objects in "Cranach's torrent of images". With the augmented reality app "Aufgeschlagen!" historical books in the Rococo Hall can be taken digitally from the shelves. The app is available free of charge for smartphones and tablets in the store: www.klassik-stiftung.de/app.
"Cranach's torrent of images" is part of the Cranach 2022 project, in the context of which the exhibition areas and the foyer of the Herzogin Anna Amalia Library have been redesigned. Changing presentations and improved barrier-free access invite visitors to experience the library in a new way.
Exhibition dates
"Cranach's torrent of images“
from 4 June 2022
Renaissance Hall of the Duchess Anna Amalia Library
Platz der Demokratie 1 | 99423 Weimar
Tue-Sun 9.30 a.m.-6 p.m.
Adults 6 euros | reduced 4 euros | pupils (16-20 years) 2 euros
Publications
Sebastian Dohe/Veronika Spinner (eds.), Cranachs Bilderfluten, Klassik Stiftung Weimar, Weimar 2022, 128 pages, 87 colour illustrations
ISBN 978-3-7443-0423-8
Reinhard Laube (ed.), In Focus - Duchess Anna Amalia Library, Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin/Munich, 160 pages, 130 colour illustrations.
ISBN 978-3-422-98717-3