Thanks to the generous support of the Kulturstiftung der Länder, the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung and the Fritz Behrens Stiftung Hannover, an important work by Oskar Kokoschka has been acquired for the Albertinum of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and the Sprengel Museum Hannover. In future, “Sommer I” will be presented alternately by the two museums every four years. It will begin at the Albertinum, where the painting will first be shown before being exhibited at the Sprengel Museum in Hanover.
Image above: Oskar Kokoschka, Sommer I, 1922 2024/25 joint acquisition of the Albertinum, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden with the support of the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung and the Sprengel Museum Hannover with the support of the Kulturstiftung der Länder and the Fritz Behrens Stiftung. 1925 to 1964 Hermann and Marie Lange Collection, Krefeld, 2024/25 acquired from private collection via Christie’s, London. © Fondation Oskar Kokoschka/ VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025; Photo: Elke Estel and Hans-Peter Klut, Albertinum | GNM, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.
The Gemäldegalerie Dresden had already acquired six paintings by the artist in 1919/20, including “Frau in Blau” and “Die Macht der Musik”. They formed the core of the modernist collection. In 1937, all six were confiscated as “degenerate” and never returned to the collection. This gap could now be closed by the purchase: With “Summer I” and the portrait “Gitta Wallerstein”, which was already acquired in 2014 thanks to the support of the Free State of Saxony, the Ernst von Siemens Art Foundation and the Cultural Foundation of the German Federal States, the Dresden State Art Collections now own two works from Oskar Kokoschka’s important Dresden creative period.
The Sprengel Museum Hannover has an extensive Kokoschka collection: six paintings, including masterpieces such as the portraits “Baron Victor von Dirsztay” from 1910 and “Nancy Cunard” from 1924, as well as 56 graphic sheets. Until today, however, a painting from the brightly colored Dresden period has been missing. “Sommer I” fills this gap in the Sprengel collection and establishes a link between the earlier and later creative phases. The painting enriches the Hanover collection with an outstanding work that presents Kokoschka’s oeuvre of the early 1920s at the highest level.
Kokoschka’s reclining female figure in “Sommer I” is one of the great nudes of Western art. New findings show how the artist understood how to refer to the model of the Old Masters and at the same time develop current trends in expressive art: He referred to Peter Paul Rubens’ “Bathseba am Springbrunnen” (1635). In a small special presentation specially conceived for the presentation of the acquisition under the title “Kokoschka + Rubens. Summit Meeting on the Occasion of an Acquisition for the Albertinum”, this work will be on display in direct comparison with Kokoschka’s painting. “Bathseba” was obviously close to the artist’s heart: when a bomb smashed through the skylight of the Semper Building during the Kapp Putsch in 1920 and damaged the painting, Kokoschka wrote an appeal for the shooting to be moved to the heath and for art not to be endangered. In response, George Grosz and John Heartfield described him as an “art rag” who put art before human hardship and sacrifice.
The expressively moving painting “Sommer I” can also be seen as the antithesis to the harmony of the Dresden “Schlummernden Venus” by Giorgione and Titian. Kokoschka’s conception of his “goddess” with her bent legs is very unique; she does not correspond to any conventional notions of beauty. For him, the motif was a symbol of protection and warmth. The artist provided a poetic description of the painting when he wrote to his friend Anna Kallin in 1922: “For the sake of (love) you will lie in the sun and ripen like grain and your soul will smell as simple to me.”
A portrait drawing of Anna Kallin and a study for the painting “Blue Woman” after a life-size doll, which was confiscated as degenerate, will also be shown on the occasion of the presentation of “Summer I” at the Albertinum.
Prof. Dr. Marion Ackermann, Director General of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden: “Art thrives on the fact that artists repeatedly refer to images and ideas from previous works. During his time in Dresden from 1917 to 1923, Kokoschka was an exceptionally frequent visitor to the Dresden Gemäldegalerie and – as we now know from research at the museum – responded in his works to paintings by Giorgione, Titian and Rubens. The current acquisition will enrich three museums and their visitors at once: the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister with a painting that is inextricably linked to its history, the Albertinum and the Sprengel Museum with an outstanding work of classical modernism.”
Hilke Wagner, Director of the Albertinum: “The painting was created when Kokoschka lived in Dresden from 1919 to 1923, which is why this work is particularly important to us. Furthermore, this purchase is of historical significance for us: in 1937, Dresden lost a large part of its important collection of modern art due to the confiscation of “degenerate” art by the National Socialists. Purchases from the international art market were hardly possible during the GDR era and could only slowly begin after 1990. In Dresden in particular, it is important to always remember the tradition, especially during the Weimar Republic, when the city on the Elbe was a real hotspot of modern trends, which also shaped the collection until 1937. I would like to thank Reinhard Spieler and the Sprengel Museum from the bottom of my heart for this cooperation. I am convinced that shared ownership is a model for the future of German museums, because it is not about sole ownership, but about securing such important works for the public.”
Prof. Dr. Markus Hilgert, Secretary General of the Kulturstiftung der Länder: “I am delighted that the Sprengel Museum Hannover and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden have succeeded in joining forces to make this important work of art permanently accessible to the public. The Kulturstiftung der Länder was very pleased to support the acquisition of Oskar Kokoschka’s “Sommer I” from 1922, whose work occupies an important place in the collections of both institutions. In Hanover, works by Kokoschka were already part of the collection of Margrit and Bernhard Sprengel, on whose donation the museum was founded. In Dresden, where the painting was created, it can be presented and researched in the biographical context of the artist’s style-defining creative phase there.”
Dr. Martin Hoernes, Secretary General of the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung: “SKD’s wish to purchase Oskar Kokoschka’s ‘Summer I’ was approved by the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung back in August 2022. In a subsequent trusting cooperation with the auction house Christie’s, a step-by-step purchase for SKD and the Sprengel Museum Hannover was initiated. The fact that Kokoschka’s “Sommer I” has now been permanently secured for Dresden and at the same time closes a gap in the collection in Hanover is an ideal outcome. Such acquisitions underline the importance of museum cooperation in order to finance top-class works and make them permanently accessible in the right places.”
Dr. Reinhard Spieler, Director of the Sprengel Museum Hannover: “The acquisition of Kokoschka’s ‘Sommer I’ is a milestone for the Sprengel Museum Hannover as one of the very rare opportunities to significantly strengthen the collection in the field of classical modernism! The acquisition of the work is a fine example of meaningful cooperation between two public institutions which, by joining forces – and with the support of the Kulturstiftung der Länder, the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung and the Fritz Behrens Stiftung – can ensure that an outstanding work of art remains in Germany. Oskar Kokoschka connects the collections not only with his artistic position, but also with his significance for our shared history as an artist who was ostracized and persecuted by the National Socialist dictatorship. This acquisition is a strong signal for Germany as a cultural location in every respect.”
Matthias Fontaine, Chairman of the Fritz Behrens Foundation Hanover: “The Fritz Behrens Foundation, which has been based in Hanover for more than 100 years, is delighted that Kokoschka’s magnificent work of art will be permanently preserved for the interested eyes of the public and will be exhibited and shown alternately at the Sprengel Museum Hanover and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.
The temporary exhibitions in Hanover and Dresden reflect the successful and progressive cooperation between charitable foundations that are committed to people.”
WHEN?
Duration: February 14 to March 09, 2025
Opening hours: daily 11 am – 5 pm, Monday closed
WHERE?
Albertinum
Tzschirnerplatz 2
01067 Dresden
COSTS?
Regular: 14 EUR
Reduced: 10,50 EUR
Under 17: free
From 10 Pers.: 12,50 EUR
