Reconstruction of Lost Buildings at Pinakothek der Moderne

Written by Felix Derringer Monday, 17 January 2011 23:03

MUNICH.- For years "reconstruction" has been the subject of a heated debate. However, reconstructions can be found since Antiquity, as throughout history buildings have been destroyed and rebuilt if required, for a variety of reasons and with alternating perceptions and definitions of "reconstruction". A look at history and a differentiated view at the concepts can help to set the problems and arguments in a wider historical context, thus relieving the current discussion of its emotional aspect. On view 22 July through 31 October.

As exposed witnesses of the past and in front of everyone’s eyes, buildings have always played a particular part in the formation and imprint of a »cultural memory« (Jan Assmann). With a deliberate recourse, the lost ‘place of remembrance’ is restored as an important bearer of the most diverse meanings by means of a reconstruction. Many reconstructions have never been debated, such as the re-erection of the Campanile at St. Mark’s Square in Venice after its collapse in 1902, others have been integrated into the history of the respective building and have long been historical documents themselves.

By means of 85 representative case studies and 200 reconstructions - ranging from Japan to Canada and from ancient Greece to the present day - the exhibition is presenting and analysing the various motives in favour of reconstructing lost buildings. The spectrum embraces reconstructions carried out for reasons of religious continuity or due to national motives, as well as in response to aesthetic concepts or commercial demands. Models, paintings, plans, photographs and animations provide a comprehensive insight into a fascinating subject.

Designed by the German Architect Stephan Braunfels, the Pinakothek der Moderne was inaugurated in September 2002 after seven years of construction. The rectilinear facade, dominated by white and grey concrete, is interrupted by large windows and highrising columns, the latter supporting the extensive canopied roof. Each of the four corners of the building, connected by a central rotunda, is dedicated to a special collection. The Museum is thus divided into Art (Kunst), Architecture (Architektur), Design (Design) and Works on Paper (Graphik).

The Bavarian State collection of work on paper has its origin in the Wittelsbach collections, especially in the print room collection of Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria. The ground floor shows alternating exhibitions of one of the most important collection of works on paper in Germany, with old German, Dutch and Italian drawings ( including masterpieces of Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci ) and German and international drawings of the 19th - 21st century, e.g. from Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Paul Klee and David Hockney. Visit : www.pinakothek.de/pinakothek-der-moderne/