Kunst als Beute. 10 Geschichten

In the organizer's words:

From spring 2024, the Humboldt Forum will be showing the temporary exhibition "Art as Loot. 10 stories". Using ten case studies, visitors will be confronted with the complex issue of looted art in three different eras: the colonial era, during the Napoleonic conquests in the 18th century and during the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945.

The objects from the collections of the Mauritshuis (The Hague, Netherlands), three Berlin museums(Ethnologisches Museum, Stadtmuseum Berlin and Gipsformerei) and the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rennes are presented partly as originals and partly as replicas.

Among other things, visitors will encounter the horse's head of the Quadriga, a self-portrait by Rembrandt, a decorated staff from Suriname and replicas and molds of Benin bronzes.

The innovative technology of virtual reality (VR) in particular brings selected stories to life and stimulates reflection: In what contexts were these objects looted? How do museums deal with looted art today? And what else should be done in the future?

A temporary exhibition, initiated and developed by the Mauritshuis in The Hague in collaboration with guest curators and creative directors Jongsma + O'Neill, realized in cooperation with the Humboldt Forum Foundation in the Berlin Palace, the Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin and the Ethnological Museum and Museum of Asian Art of the National Museums in Berlin - Prussian Cultural Heritage.

- free of charge

- Languages: German / English

- Location: 3rd floor

- Duration: March 22, 2024 - January 26, 2025

- Opening hours: Exhibitions: Wednesdays to Mondays from 10:30 - 18:30. Tuesday is a regular closing day.