Images & Texts

2 DECEMBER 2026–28 FEBRUARY 2027

Exhibition Hall of the Department of Prints and Drawings

Press Preview: Tuesday, 1 December 2026, 11.00 am

The skin has always been a central motif in art. It covers and envelops the body, defines and protects it, and enables us to feel. As a highly sensitive sensory organ and the visible boundary between the body and the outside world, the skin shapes human appearance. With the exhibition “SurFace. On Skin”, the Städel Museum focuses on the materiality, representation and execution of the skin as an artistically designed surface. Taking selected works from the Collection of Prints and Drawings as its starting point, the exhibition brings together some seventy works in various media and from different periods from the collections of the Städel Museum and the Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung, including photographs, paintings and sculptures. Spanning from antiquity through the Old Masters and modern art to the present day, the exhibition presents a multi-layered panorama that sheds light on the depiction of skin as a fundamental aspect of artistic practice.  

In art, the body’s surface serves as a mirror of experiences and emotions, of youth and old age, and at the same time as a sensitive site of vulnerability and desirability. The exhibition juxtaposes works by Hans Baldung Grien, Pierre Bonnard, Albrecht Dürer, Hendrick Goltzius, Dora Maar, Raphael, Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn, Titian and others, thereby illustrating the diversity of creative approaches. The choice of materials and techniques influences the artistic process, the surface, texture and plasticity of the body’s surface, as well as its individual effect on the viewer. The rendering of the face and body reveals the distinctive qualities of the skin, its flexibility and mutability. Wounds appear as intrusions into the closed surface of the body, clothing as a shaping envelope, touch as the basis of interpersonal communication, and the physical imprint of the skin as a unique, individual signature. The exhibition at the Städel Museum sharpens the viewer’s awareness of the surface in art and allows it to be experienced sensually.

Philipp Demandt, Director of the Städel Museum, on the exhibition: “The depiction of human skin is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating and, at the same time, most challenging themes in art. With ‘SurFace. On Skin’, we are once again presenting treasures from our Collection of Prints and Drawings alongside significant paintings, photographs and sculptural works from the Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung. The exhibition thus offers a cross-epochal and cross-media overview spanning from antiquity to the twentieth century. The focus is on questions of artistic practice: By what means, techniques and materials is it possible to make the sensuality, tactile quality and adaptability of the body’s surface tangible? Today, skin is rightly understood as an expression of identity; our exhibition aims to complement this perspective with an art historical approach that examines its representation and development across the various media of art, thereby inviting visitors to sharpen their own perception.”

Astrid Reuter, Head of Prints and Drawings before 1800, Städel Museum: “The exhibition title ‘SurFace’ itself points out that, when we engage with the skin, we are moving along the surface of the human body, which—when translated into drawing, painting and sculpture—becomes one with the surface of the artwork. We perceive it as rough or smooth, vulnerable, brittle and hard, or seductively soft; we may wish to explore it through touch or recoil from making contact. This supreme degree of sensitivity, flexibility and expressiveness of the skin makes it a fascinating subject in art, which we explore in the exhibition through well-known works as well as those rarely or never before exhibited.”

“SurFace. On Skin” is made possible by funding from the Städelverein.

Find the full press release here.

Contributions to the Städel Endowment Secure Core Funding / Visitors Give Their Face to the Museum's Endowment Message

As a Frankfurt landmark, the Städel Museum has, for more than two hundred years, been committed to preserving the freedom of art and making it accessible to everyone. Now the Städel is responsibly carrying its founder Johann Friedrich Städel’s vision—to create an independent and financially self-sufficient art museum—into the future. This year, the Städel has become the first German art museum to launch a comprehensive endowment campaign. The aim is to gradually increase the core capital of the non-profit foundation Städelsches Kunstinstitut, which is to be preserved in perpetuity, to at least 100 million euros. 

Under the guiding principle Städel remains Städel, everyone is now called upon to support the museum by making contributions to the endowment. All endowment contributions to the Städel Museum are legally inalienable. The Städel Endowment is intended to form the museum’s core funding in future. It will not be spent but rather preserved for future generations. However, the income will be used to finance all of the museum’s core tasks.

Contributions to the Städel Endowment can be made easily digitally via the dedicated campaign page (in German language) and through a donation column in the museum’s foyer. The endowment campaign highlights the special bond between the city’s community and the Städel: together with its friends’ association, the Städelscher Museums-Verein, the museum reaches out to the general public; to this day, the Städel is sustained by broad civic engagement. To give a human face to the endowment message, visitors to the Städel took part in a public photo shoot. In a campaign video, they vividly express what connects them to the museum and what it means to them. The result is an accessible and personal campaign that is visible both online and across the city.

Philipp Demandt, Director of the Städel Museum, on the public appeal: “The Städel Endowment is our major project for the future. More than 200 years ago, Johann Friedrich Städel, our museum’s founder, laid the foundation stone for a unique, independent museum with his legacy, sustained by civic engagement. We now wish to carry this legacy into the future together with the whole of the city’s community. To this day, we remain a charitable foundation, and our core assets, the Städel Endowment, are intended to safeguard the museum for future generations. Everyone is invited to contribute to the Endowment and help usher in a new era for the Städel Museum. On behalf of the entire Städel team, I would like to express my sincere thanks to all contributors! A big thank you goes to the Städelverein and to those visitors who are putting a face to our endowment message.”

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