Tuesday 11 January 2011.(Some postings were delayed due to problems accessing the internet)
From Holland, I crossed the border into Germany near Venlo, and crossed the Rhein over the magnificent (as far as I could tell in the dark) suspension bridge near Duisberg. It rained all the way but my SatNav guided me successfully through the complex network of narrow motorways in this part of Germany.
I made a big mistake. I should have booked at least two nights in Essen. Instead I planned to 'drop in' on my way to Kassel. Silly me. I wanted to visit the Folkwang but didn't arrive until 6pm. I nevertheless drove past and saw lights on, so I went to take a look anyway. It turned out that the special exhibition "Pictures of a Metropolis - the Impressionists in Paris" was on until 8. I bought a ticket.
"Oh no, not the impressionists again" was my first thought, but the title belies the true theme of the exhibition; they probably inserted the word "impressionist" to draw the crowds. It's really about how Paris developed according to the plans of Napoleon's architect Hausmann in the second half of the nineteenth century. Essen, centre of the Ruhr district and European city of culture, wants to follow this example in its own ambition to transform itself from the 20th century dirty industrial heartland of Germany into a cultural metropolis (at least, according to the Hartwig Fischer, director of the Folkwang). The exhibition starts with (early impressionist) pictures of the city before the reconstruction, including for example a Corot landscape of the seine with sandy banks and shacks. Then we see paintings and photographs of the 1889 world exposition, of which the Eiffel tower is the only remaining structure. We then move on to a large collection of magnificent photographs of the city during the rebuilding. These are from the early days of photography but are incredibly sharp and evocative images of the changing city and the builders who constructed it. I am not normally a great fan of photography but these were fascinating. We then move on to the (impressionist) painters' depiction of the new metropolis: the steam railways, the parks, the cafes - depicted with wonderful works by the ageing Caillebotte, the mature Manet, Renoir, Signac, Seurat and the young van Gogh. The subjects are familiar but are seen in a new light in the context of a transformed city, brought into the modern age - the good and the bad - giving pause to think about the character one would wish upon any modern city.
I wish Essen and the Ruhrgebiet every success with its own version of this transformation. The Folkwang, reopened about a year ago after a 2-year restoration, is now a fantastic facility with 7000 square metres of exhibition space, of which 1700 reserved for special exhibitions and equipped with movable walls for flexible configuration. And there are dozens of other outstanding galleries and museums in the Ruhrgebiet. I will be back very soon.
From Holland, I crossed the border into Germany near Venlo, and crossed the Rhein over the magnificent (as far as I could tell in the dark) suspension bridge near Duisberg. It rained all the way but my SatNav guided me successfully through the complex network of narrow motorways in this part of Germany.
I made a big mistake. I should have booked at least two nights in Essen. Instead I planned to 'drop in' on my way to Kassel. Silly me. I wanted to visit the Folkwang but didn't arrive until 6pm. I nevertheless drove past and saw lights on, so I went to take a look anyway. It turned out that the special exhibition "Pictures of a Metropolis - the Impressionists in Paris" was on until 8. I bought a ticket.
"Oh no, not the impressionists again" was my first thought, but the title belies the true theme of the exhibition; they probably inserted the word "impressionist" to draw the crowds. It's really about how Paris developed according to the plans of Napoleon's architect Hausmann in the second half of the nineteenth century. Essen, centre of the Ruhr district and European city of culture, wants to follow this example in its own ambition to transform itself from the 20th century dirty industrial heartland of Germany into a cultural metropolis (at least, according to the Hartwig Fischer, director of the Folkwang). The exhibition starts with (early impressionist) pictures of the city before the reconstruction, including for example a Corot landscape of the seine with sandy banks and shacks. Then we see paintings and photographs of the 1889 world exposition, of which the Eiffel tower is the only remaining structure. We then move on to a large collection of magnificent photographs of the city during the rebuilding. These are from the early days of photography but are incredibly sharp and evocative images of the changing city and the builders who constructed it. I am not normally a great fan of photography but these were fascinating. We then move on to the (impressionist) painters' depiction of the new metropolis: the steam railways, the parks, the cafes - depicted with wonderful works by the ageing Caillebotte, the mature Manet, Renoir, Signac, Seurat and the young van Gogh. The subjects are familiar but are seen in a new light in the context of a transformed city, brought into the modern age - the good and the bad - giving pause to think about the character one would wish upon any modern city.
I wish Essen and the Ruhrgebiet every success with its own version of this transformation. The Folkwang, reopened about a year ago after a 2-year restoration, is now a fantastic facility with 7000 square metres of exhibition space, of which 1700 reserved for special exhibitions and equipped with movable walls for flexible configuration. And there are dozens of other outstanding galleries and museums in the Ruhrgebiet. I will be back very soon.
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