SurFace. On Skin

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.