The Rastatt Collection: History and profile

Diethelm Lütze's collection of prints of 20th century South German art forms the basis of the Rastatt Collection. This collection includes works of New Objectivity, Expressionism, Informalism and Concrete Art. Artists such as Otto Dix, Erich Heckel, Hanna Nagel, Emil Schumacher, Gerlinde Beck and Otto Herbert Hajek are represented.

The museum also owns around 400 works of art from Baden after 1945, including paintings, graphics, sculptures and sculptures - they represent the trends of recent and recent art history. Many of the works are associated with the Karlsruhe Art Academy. One thematic focus is on the empty space. This thematic field is represented by Hans-Peter Reuter, Ben Willikens and Martin Uhlig, among others. Artists such as Peter Dreher, Susi Juvan, Horst Egon Kalinowski, Barbara Haim, Ritzi Jacobi and Karl Hubbuch are also represented.

The Westermann Collection also reflects different trends in art after 1945. The collector Günther Westermann invited a wide variety of artists to respond to the object boxes (small wooden boxes in the standard format of 13 x 17 x 2.5 centimeters) that he built himself. They were completely free to decide how to deal with the format specification. While Imi Knoeble, for example, covered the format with a square wooden panel, Franz Erhard Walther chose a fabric cover. In its diversity, the collection is a conceptual exploration of surface, space, materiality and authorship and thus addresses fundamental questions of art.

The Städtische Galerie Fruchthalle owns three works by Anselm Kiefer, one of the best-known and most successful German artists after the Second World War, who spent part of his childhood and youth in Rastatt. Among these works is the monumental collage "Wege der Weltweisheit".

The works are currently not on display, but can be viewed on request. To arrange an appointment, please contact galerie@rastatt.de.