Images & Texts

24 February – 27 June 2027

Exhibition Annex

Press Preview: Tuesday, 23 February 2027, 11.00 am

Paradise—a place of longing that has fired the human imagination for centuries. Representing both an earthly and a heavenly garden, as well as the original harmony between humans and nature, it became a projection space for religious, philosophical and artistic ideas. The large-scale exhibition In the Garden of Paradise. Art and the Perception of Nature around 1400 explores this tension, focusing on a pivotal period of upheaval in European art. 

The starting point is one of the most famous and, at the same time, most enigmatic paintings in the Städel Museum: The Little Garden of Paradise (ca. 1410–20). Barely larger than an open book, the panel reveals an astonishing wealth of detail. The Virgin Mary is depicted amidst courtly society, and the enclosed garden can be interpreted as both a religious symbol and a setting for worldly love. The work is particularly notable for its unparalleled closeness to nature: more than twenty-five plant species, twelve bird species and three insect species are depicted with astonishing precision, reflecting a newly awakened interest in nature as a space for observation and knowledge. The exhibition focuses on this groundbreaking connection between art and the perception of nature, situating The Little Garden of Paradise firmly within the historical and artistic context of Europe around 1400—a time marked by upheaval, conflict and intellectual exchange.

Sponsored by: Städelscher Museums-Verein e. V.

Find the full press release here.

2 December 2026 – 28 February 2027

Exhibition Hall of the Department of Prints and Drawings

With an area of around two square metres, the skin is the largest organ of the human body. It covers and envelops the body, delimits and protects it, and enables us to feel. Experiences and sensations are inscribed on its surface. The skin shapes our identity and serves as a projection surface for those we encounter. The exhibition SurFace. On Skin focuses on the fascinating topic of human skin. Based on selected works from the Collection of Prints and Drawings, over sixty exhibits in different media and from various eras are presented, including drawings, paintings and sculptures, from the Old Masters to contemporary art. A multi-layered panorama thus unfolds, highlighting the reproduction of skin as one of the fundamental tasks of artistic practice. The skin is revealed as a mirror of beauty and vulnerability, of youth and age, and a conduit for emotions, touch and desire. The exhibition brings together works of lesser-known artists and artists of renown, including Hans Baldung Grien, Raphael, Titian, Peter Paul Rubens, Auguste Rodin and Robert Mapplethorpe. The juxtaposition of these works reveals the similarities and differences in their depictions of skin, highlighting the diversity of creative approaches. The variety of materials and techniques employed—from brush and paint to metalpoint, chalk and charcoal, as well as three-dimensional objects—enables a sensual experience of the surface of the human body.

Sponsored by: Städelscher Museums-Verein e. V.

Find the full press release here.