The New Walk Museum & Art Gallery Shows Images of War & Peace

Written by Stephen Turing Tuesday, 28 June 2011 23:51

Leicester, UK.- The New Walk Museum and Art Gallery in Leicester is proud to present "Spirits of War to Hands of Peace", on view at the museum until July 24th. This new and exciting exhibition exploring the horrors of war and the power of peace. The exhibition showcases paintings, works on paper and sculptures by artists who have visualised war and conflict and their often hard-won opposites, peace and harmony. The exhibition includes, de Loutherbourg who brings the Crusades to life in his bold composition of Richard I and Saladin locked in combat, German soldier turned painter Johannes Koelz, in his giant anti-war painting ‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’, first shown to great acclaim at the museum in 2001.

The poignant sadness of life lost in battle is revealed in Liberich’s sculpture group of a dying Polish Commander, contrasted with "A Roman Triumph" by Frank Topham, the victory parade of a Roman general through his great city. Peace is revealed in its multiple forms, from the Bill Ming wood sculpture ‘A Lesson in Trust’ featuring an embracing couple, to portraits offering hope through family ties of warmth and loyalty renewed and quietly celebrated by Alan Parker.

However, the centerpiece of the exhibition is Koelz' "Thous Shalt Not Kill". This triptych (three-panel painting), was first exhibited at New Walk Museum & Art Gallery in 2001, in the exhibition ‘A Life Divided’, which told the story of soldier turned artist Johannes Koelz. His lost unfinished masterpiece is reconstructed here with original surviving fragments. These fragments now form part of Leicester’s collection of early 20th century German art. Koelz’s painting, a monumental work on wooden blockboard panels, was painted in semi-secrecy at the artist’s studio near Munich, Bavaria from 1930-37. It was a devastating and passionate anti-war work, which set its maker on a collision course with the German authorities. Koelz had won the Iron Cross in 1916, in the trenches at Verdun, and his younger brother Hans had also been killed in action in 1914. The slaughter Koelz had experienced first-hand turned him against war for life.


In 1937 Koelz and his young family were forced to flee Germany, when he faced imminent arrest on a charge of ‘pacifist propaganda’, but incredibly the arresting officer turned out to be the former soldier whose life Koelz had saved in 1916. The artist was given 48 hours grace to flee, but just before escaping, he cut his masterpiece into several pieces, which were then secretly hidden for decades. The artist’s daughter Ava Farrington began searching for the missing fragments after her father died in 1971 and has tracked down six, four of which she presented to the City Museums Service in 1998.

New Walk Museum & Art Gallery, Leicester's original museum has wide ranging collections and displays spanning the natural and cultural world. Located on the historic New Walk area of the city, their exhibitions feature works from our collections and touring exhibitions from National Museums. A family friendly day-out, the galleries include Egyptians, Wild Space and World Arts. The art galleries showcase changing displays of Modern and Old Masters including works by Hogarth, Peter Doig, L. S. Lowry and Francis Bacon and a permanent display of Pablo Picasso Ceramics: The Attenborough Collection. The museum also offers a Gift Shop and Costa Coffee Shop and The City Gallery Shop offering a range of contemporary craft & design gifts. New Walk Museum & Art Gallery originated in 1849 when the Literary and Philosophical Society formally presented to the town its various collections, which have grown and developed over the last 160 years into one of the premier museums in the region. New Walk Museum & Art Gallery has been the inspiration for many people including Lord Richard Attenborough and Sir David Attenborough, who pursued their love of art and natural history as a result of spending their formative years as regular visitors to the galleries. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.leicester.gov.uk/your-council-services/lc/leicester-city-museums/museums/nwm-art-gallery

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