The museums in Berlin and Munich contain ancient and modern masterpieces, and on the streets one is absorbed in the history of modern Germany.
videos + essays
The Severan Tondo: damnatio memoriae in ancient Rome
A family drama in which Caracalla assassinates his brother and damns his memory.
Simultanism: Robert Delaunay
The longer you look at the painting the more possible readings of the forms you are likely to discover. Delaunay’s painting is not only about vision, it is also about painting itself and the way colored shapes and relationships structure vision.
The Berlin Wall as a political symbol
This Cold War icon was much more than just a barrier between East and West.
Negotiating the past in Berlin: the Palast der Republik
This building was a symbol of a repressive regime, but the German government's vote to tear it down sparked years of protests.
Peter Behrens, Turbine Factory
A leader in modern technology hired a “self-taught architect” with no engineering skills to design their factory.
Exekias, Dionysos Kylix
This cup depicts the god of wine Dionysos escaping pirates by hiding and turning them into dolphins.
Portrait Head of Queen Tiye
Tiye was a powerful figure, but her royal life was complicated, as demonstrated through this changing statue.
Titian, Christ Crowned with Thorns
Opting for shadow over light, Titian frees himself—and future generations—from the Renaissance demand for clarity.
Albrecht Dürer, Self-Portrait (1500)
Dürer holds nothing back in this frontal portrait. By taking Christ’s pose, he conflates artist and creator.
Franz von Stuck, The Sin
Entranced by the evil of the human psyche, we come face to face with art history’s creepiest snake.
Peter Paul Rubens, The Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus
The myth is ancient, but these figures couldn’t be closer. Rubens’s virtuoso brushwork and color are on display.
Albrecht Dürer, The Four Apostles
These monumental figures concentrate their attention on the word of God, which Dürer writes into the painting.