Images & Texts

Press release 

Monet on the Normandy Coast. The Discovery of Étretat 
19 March – 5 July 2026
Exhibition Annex

The coastal town of Étretat has become a myth—and continues to fascinate to this day. The cliffs of Étretat, located in Normandy on the Atlantic coast, captivated numerous artists in the 19th century. From 19 March to 5 July 2026, the Städel Museum will present a major exhibition dedicated to the artistic discovery of the former fishing village of Étretat and its influence on modern painting. Around 170 exceptional paintings, drawings, photographs and historical documents on loan from leading French, German and other international museums as well as several private collections will be on display in Frankfurt. Among them are no fewer than twenty-four works by Claude Monet.  

Étretat played an important role in the emergence of a new style of painting that went down in art history as Impressionism. The artists were particularly interested in the distinctive cliff landscape, which they found both excitingly beautiful and threatening. Painters and writers travelled to Étretat, and it was through their works that this remote place became famous beyond France’s borders. Following an increase in tourism around 1850, Étretat developed into a popular seaside resort and meeting place for artists, intellectuals and the Parisian bourgeoisie. Gustave Courbet painted his famous wave pictures here; Guy de Maupassant elevated Étretat to a place of longing in his writing; and Maurice Leblanc’s fictional gentleman thief, Arsène Lupin, hoarded his treasures here. The aspiring painter Claude Monet was so fascinated by the unique cliffs and their three rock arches—the Porte d’Amont, the Porte d’Aval and the Manneporte—that he dedicated several paintings to them. Impressed by the ever-changing light and weather conditions, Monet began painting series of motifs in Étretat for the first time, a working method that would later become his trademark.  

In addition to works by Eugène Delacroix, Gustave Courbet, Claude Monet and Henri Matisse, the exhibition brings together a host of other important figures in modern and contemporary art, including Johann Wilhelm Schirmer and Eugène Le Poittevin, as well as Camille Corot, Eugène Boudin and Elger Esser. Together, the works illustrate the enduring fascination that this place continues to exert to this day. Loans come from the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa and the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, among others.  

Philipp Demandt, Director of the Städel Museum, emphasizes: “With our major special exhibition in spring 2026, we are for the first time dedicating ourselves to exploring the emergence of the myth of Étretat. This coastal town, with its striking rock formations and unique light, has been a source of fascination for artists since the 19th century, and continues to captivate to this day. It was in Étretat that Claude Monet developed his famous serial depiction of motifs, which had a decisive influence on Impressionism. We are particularly proud that two outstanding works from the Städel Collection, which were created in Étretat, form the starting point of the exhibition: Monet’s Luncheon and Gustave Courbet’s The Wave. These are complemented by high-calibre international loans, including twenty-four works by Monet alone. We would like to express our sincere thanks to all lenders and our sponsors for their generous support. We look forward to exploring the enduring fascination of Étretat together with our visitors.”  
 
“In the hundred years or so from Romanticism to Classical Modernism, the artistic view of the impressive coastal landscape around the small town of Étretat underwent multifaceted change. The spectrum ranges from atmospheric watercolour and oil studies to early photographs and Claude Monet’s famous paintings of the impressive cliffs. With its distinctive coastal landscape, Étretat was a magnet for artists of several generations. In collaboration with the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, it was a central concern of ours to place Courbet’s epoch-making wave paintings and Monet’s serial landscape paintings in a broader context and to highlight Étretat’s significance for modern art,” explain Alexander Eiling and Eva Mongi-Vollmer, curators of the exhibition at the Städel Museum.    
 
Curators: Alexander Eiling (Head of Modern Art, Städel Museum), Eva Mongi-Vollmer (Curator, Städel Museum), Stéphane Paccoud (Conservateur en chef, Peintures et sculptures du XIXe siècle, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon) and Isolde Pludermacher (Conservatrice générale peinture, Musée d’Orsay, Paris) in cooperation with Eva-Maria Höllerer (Curator, Städel Museum) and Nelly Janotka (Assistant Curator, Städel Museum)  
 
Sponsored by: Fraport AG, Fontana Foundation, Städelscher Museums-Verein e.V., City of Frankfurt am Main – Department of Culture and Science  
Marketing and Media Partners: Alnatura, Ströer Deutsche Städte Medien GmbH, Elisabethen Quelle, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, arte  
     
You can find the full press release here as a PDF.  

Major Endowment Campaign for the Museum’s Core Funding / Endowment Contributions from Supporters have begun

The Städel Museum is the first German art museum to launch a comprehensive endowment campaign. The aim is to significantly increase the foundation capital, which will be preserved in the long term. The launch of the endowment campaign was announced yesterday at a festive event at the Städel. In the presence of 160 supporters of the museum, the establishment of the Städel Future Fund was ceremoniously announced.

Supported by the non-profit Städelsches Kunstinstitut foundation, the Städel is one of the oldest and most successful civic museum foundations in Germany. The museum is primarily financed by its visitors, private patrons, foundations, corporate partners and the Städelscher Museums-Verein. Additional funds come from the City of Frankfurt and the State of Hesse. In the medium term, the Städel Endowment will be another important pillar of the museum’s core funding.

More than two centuries after its founding through the generous bequest of Johann Friedrich Städel, his museum is now taking a decisive step towards securing its longterm financial independence. Over the coming years and decades, contributions to the Städel Future Fund will gradually expand the museum foundation’s capital. All endowment contributions to the Städel Museum are legally inalienable. The endowment will not be spent but rather preserved for future generations. The income, however, can be used to finance all of the museum’s core tasks.

The aim is to increase the Städelsches Kunstinstitut endowment to at least 100 million euros. The initiative is modelled on the endowments of major international cultural and scientific institutions, particularly in the United States.

The endowment will ensure that Johann Friedrich Städel’s vision of a civic museum is carried forward into the future. The campaign, guided by the principle Städel remains Städel, is aimed at the general public. Preparations for the Städel Endowment began in 2023. Since then, the Städel Museum has already received endowment contributions and pledges amounting to over € 10 million. Exceptional contributions were made by several private individuals, foundations of Frankfurt and the Städelscher Museums-Verein. The Städel Museum will achieve at least a quarter of its aimed amount through bequests from long-standing visitors. Further bequests have already been pledged to the museum. At yesterday’s festive event at the Städel Museum, this sum was increased by several million euros thanks to the generosity of the guests.

Philipp Demandt, Director of the Städel Museum, on the endowment: “The world is changing, and only what changes will remain. The Städel is embracing this change and shaping it with resoluteness and self-determination. The significant expansion of our foundation’s endowment is a historic milestone and, at the same time, the next logical step towards the future. The existence and success of the Städel Museum have been shaped by civic engagement like few other institutions—and have been for over 200 years. Our primary goal is to preserve the openness and freedom of our institution, as well as its financial independence, for future generations. The first generous contributions to the endowment fill us with great confidence. Companions become pioneers! Everyone is invited to contribute to the ‘Städel Future Fund’! My sincere thanks go to all friends and supporters who are committed to this great task.”

The Städel Museum is one of Germany’s best-known and most visited art museums, with a collection of international masterpieces spanning over 700 years. The museum presents major special exhibitions by renowned artists and continuously broadens its perspective on art history through programmatic new discoveries. Its science, research and art education are of the highest calibre. Through its diverse educational programme and free digital offers, the Städel promotes community for all generations and cultural participation into old age.

The Städel Museum has been a private foundation since its establishment in 1815. With 85% of its total budget financed from its own resources, the Städel Museum has one of the highest self-financing ratios of any European museum. Admission revenues and donations from civil society are key sources of funding for the Städel. Essential information about the Städel Endowment can be found on our website.

You can find the full press release here as a PDF.

One of the most important sculpture acquisitions in the history of the Städel Museum / Gothic Madonna returns to the Altenberg Altar in the Städel / Work is listed as Cultural Property of National Significance

For the Städel Museum, it is one of the most significant acquisitions in its history: the Virgin and Child Enthroned (c. 1320–1330) from the Altenberg Altarpiece was purchased for the Städel Museum with the support of the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation, the Städelscher Museums-Verein and the Cultural Foundation of the German Federal States. Also known as the Altenberg Madonna, the figure is one of the most important works of medieval sculpture in Germany and one of the oldest examples of fourteenth-century Cologne sculpture. It is unique in that its original paintwork is exceptionally well preserved. The Altenberg Madonna is listed in the register of cultural property of national significance and is therefore protected from export.

The Virgin and Child Enthroned is part of the altarpiece from the abbey church in Altenberg, Hesse. The Städel Museum has owned the painted wings of this altarpiece for 100 years. Together with the original altar shrine, on permanent loan from the Braunfels castle museum, the Altenberg Altar is a major work in the current collection presentation. The paintings on the altar wings are the oldest examples of German painting in the Städel Museum. The Altenberg Madonna was once enthroned in the altar shrine. The sculpture has been in private ownership in southern Germany since the 1920s and has been kept on permanent loan at the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in Munich since 1981. With the acquisition of the Altenberg Madonna, all components of the altarpiece are now reunited and can be viewed permanently at the Städel Museum.

Philipp Demandt, Director of the Städel Museum, on the purchase: “After 100 years, the famous Altenberg Madonna has returned to its rightful place on the altar—a momentous occasion in the history of the Städel Museum! We owe the successful acquisition of this exceptional work of art to the foresight of the owners and the dedication of our sponsors. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation, the board, and all members of our support association, and the Cultural Foundation of the German Federal States.”

Work details
Virgin and Child Enthroned
Cologne, c. 1320/1330
Hardwood, painted
132 × 60 × 33 cm
Acquired in 2026 with funds from the Cultural Foundation of the German Federal States as well as Traute Kirchholtes. Joint property with the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung and the Städelscher Museums-Verein e.V.

You can find the full press release here as a PDF. 

Monet on the Normandy Coast: The Discovery of Étretat, Bruegel’s Fantastic Worlds, New Perspectives with Elmgreen & Dragset, Skin in Art on Paper, Major exhibition on Mary Magdalene and 2027 Welcome to Paradise

You can find the full press release here as a PDF.