The Idea of a House in the Country

Berlin-born painter Max Liebermann long dreamed of having a house in the country. He finally made his wish come true in 1910, when he created a unique “Gesamtkunstwerk” of architecture and garden design on Lake Wannsee.

Refined country living was at the height of its popularity, and numerous villas and gardens that are still renowned today date from this period. The rediscovery of the country house around 1900 went hand in hand with a return to the neo-classical style of the early 19th century. Goethe’s garden house in Weimar, in particular, attained cult status, and its high-hipped roof and simple elegance provided much inspiration for the architecture of the Liebermann villa. The notion of the country house as the epitome of refined living in harmony with nature goes back as far as Andrea Palladio. It was in this tradition that Liebermann sought to place his house, and indeed, it does stand out from the majority of villas built in Germany at that time. Liebermann regarded the country house as more than just an upper-middle-class retreat; he considered it the ideal living and working environment for a painter, with the garden offering the perfect motif for his work.

In more than 40 paintings, drawings, photographs and documents the anniversary-exhibition “The idea of a House in the Country” shows the history of the Liebermann-Villa and how it is embedded in the life reform movement at the turn of the 19th century.

With many colorful works by other German painters such as Lovis Corinth, Max Slevogt, Leopold von Kalckreuth and Wilhelm Trübner.

The Jesus-Scandal.

A Liebermann-Painting in the cross-fire of critics

Hardly any of Lieberman's Paintings provoked such a nationwide scandal as The twelfe-years old Jesus in the Temple did, which was on display at the International Art Exhibition in Munich 1879. This was caused by the unfamiliar realistic depiction of the boy Jesus. The public was enraged of how Liebermann, as a jewish artist, dared to paint a christian subject. The public outrage, nurtured by anti-Semitic resentments, was so immense, that the Bavarian Parliament discussed the topic.

The exhibition in the Liebermann-Villa for the first time presents the painting in context with all preserved preparing sketches and studies. It gives information about the emergence of the painting and relates it with its predecessors: works of Adolf Menzel, Rembrandt and other artists.
Documents and explanatory notes exemplify the historical Controversy.
The exhibition connects therefore the history of Art and Culture in an extraordinary way with former contemporary history.

The Parrot Alley at Lake Wannsee

The famous Liebermann-Collection of Kunsthalle Bremen is one of the most prominent collections in Germany. The Liebermann-Villa is proud to present 40 paintings, drawings and prints within our special exhibition Parrot Alley at Lake Wannsee.

Gustav Pauli, the first director of the Kunsthalle Bremen, was a supporter of modern Impressionist art and a personal friend of Max Liebermann's. He laid the foundation for the Liebermann collection in Bremen, which ranks among the most important collections in Germany today. Pauli managed to arouse the enthusiasm of a group of open-minded collectors for Liebermann's work and inspire their support for Kunsthalle, both in the form of loans and donations.

The Parrot Alley of 1902 is one of the best-known and most-loved Liebermann paintings. It shows the Parrot Lane at Amsterdam's famous zoo where Liebermann spent time during the summer of 1901.  This major work perfectly illustrates the influence of French Impressionism on the Berlin painter.

The prints and drawings of the Bremen Print Department provide a good overview of the artist's graphic work. Liebermann considered drawing to be the basis of all art and a valuable source of insight into the creative process. Thus one of Liebermann's early sketchbooks, which was his constant companion for almost a decade, is rightly regarded as a highlight of the Bremen collection and is now on display in the Liebermann-Villa.