Gianluca Costantini's Illustrated Journey Through Joseph Beuys's Düsseldorf
In April 2026, Artribune published a piece by cartoonist Gianluca Costantini, chronicling his exploration of Düsseldorf locations associated with Joseph Beuys. Costantini's adventure commences at the K20 building of Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, established in 1961 to safeguard 20th-century art. The collection originally included 88 pieces by Paul Klee, obtained to restore modern art that the Nazis had prohibited. Klee, who taught at Düsseldorf's Academy of Fine Arts until 1933, was expelled from German museums and passed away in Switzerland in 1940. During his journey, Costantini views Max Beckmann's 1922 painting Der Eiserne Steg and Beuys's 1983 artwork La fine del XX Secolo, later finding a plaque at Alt-Pempelfort 2, Klee's former home. The article is curated by Alex Urso.
Key facts
- Gianluca Costantini published an illustrated account of visiting Joseph Beuys-related sites in Düsseldorf in April 2026
- The Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen was founded in 1961 as a public institution
- The museum's collection began with 88 works by Paul Klee acquired as a political act
- Paul Klee taught at Düsseldorf's Academy of Fine Arts until removed in 1933
- Klee died in Switzerland in 1940 without seeing his work rehabilitated in Germany
- The collection expanded to include Picasso, Kandinsky, Mondrian, Matisse, Pollock, and Beuys
- Beuys's La fine del XX Secolo (1983) features five modified basalt blocks
- Beuys's 7000 Oaks project was presented at Documenta in Kassel in 1982
Entities
Artists
Institutions
- Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen
- K20
- Academy of Fine Arts Düsseldorf
- Bauhaus
- Documenta
- Artribune
Locations
- Düsseldorf
- Germany
- Switzerland
- Kassel
- Frankfurt