The Liebermann Villa is a museum located in the former summer residence of the German painter

Max Liebermann Max Liebermann (20 July 1847 – 8 February 1935) was a German painter and printmaker, and one of the leading proponents of Impressionism in Germany and continental Europe. In addition to his activity as an artist, he also assembled an important ...

. It is situated directly at the shores of Lake Wannsee in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. It has been open to public since April 30, 2006 and shows a collection of Liebermann's paintings of his

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

and its garden.

History

Max Liebermann

Max Liebermann (1847–1935) was co-founder and head of the

Berlin Secession The Berlin Secession was an art movement established in Germany on May 2, 1898. Formed in reaction to the Association of Berlin Artists, and the restrictions on contemporary art imposed by Wilhelm II, German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, 65 artist ...

and head of the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts () was a state arts academy first established in 1694 by prince-elector Frederick III of Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg in Berlin, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and later king in Kingdom of ...

(''Preußische Akademie der Künste''). He was dismissed by the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

s in 1933 and banned because he was a Jew and a follower of what they considered to be degenerate art. He painted about 200 paintings of the garden at his villa, some of which are exhibited in his former studio on the upper floor.

Villa

In 1909, he bought a narrow piece of land with direct access to the shores of Lake Wannsee to escape from the city noise of Berlin. He lived there during the summer, from 1910 on. The villa was built by the architect Paul Otto Baumgarten. Liebermann called it his "little castle by the lake". It was completed in April, 1910.

Garden

The lengthy garden is divided in two by the villa itself. From the center of the villa, there is a view over the grass to Lake Wannsee. There is a garden terrace in front of the house, looking toward Wannsee. On one side of the grass, there is the famous

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

path, with birch trees growing wherever they sprout. On the other side, there are three hedged gardens. In the rear of the villa, is the garden house and a vegetable plot.

Museum

Permanent exhibition

In the former studio, on the upper floor, there are about 40 paintings related to the garden and the villa. On the ground floor, the history of the Liebermann family and the house is documented, including of how the Nazis forced Liebermann's wife, Martha, to sell the villa. The selling price was highly undervalued and in the end, she didn't even get that. Hours before she was due to be deported to

Theresienstadt concentration camp Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...

, she committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

rather than risk death at the hands of the Nazis.

Museum's concept

The Max-Liebermann-Gesellschaft Berlin e. V. assists the museum in care of the villa and garden and in restoring them to their original state at the time of the Liebermanns' occupancy. Paintings of the garden and villa are presented continuously. A Multimedia Installation by Heiko Daxl and Ingeborg Fülepp opens a broader view with historical documents, photographs, sound recordings and films into the 100 years turbulent history of the house and the garden. Visitors can experience the serenity and spirit of the villa as Liebermann did when he lived and painted there."Max Liebermann Villa am Wannsee Berlin" in ''Die Neuen Architekturführer'', No. 82. 20-page broschure about the museum. Stadtwandel Verlag, Berlin (2006)

References

Bibliography

* Nina Nedelykov, Pedro Moreira (eds.): ''Zurück am Wannsee. Max Liebermanns Sommerhaus''. Transit Buchverlag: Berlin 2003; * Ingo Krüger, ''Landhäuser und Villen in Berlin & Potsdam - Nr. 3: Großer Wannsee, Colonie Alsen, Villa Liebermann''. Delmenhorst: Aschenbeck & Holstein (2005)

External links

*(de
Website of Max-Liebermann-Gesellschaft
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