Städel Museum Frankfurt Examines Germany's Role in Van Gogh's Posthumous Fame

The Städel Museum in Frankfurt presents a major exhibition exploring how Germany embraced Vincent van Gogh as a pioneer of modern art shortly after his death. Running until February 16, 2020, the show is structured in three chapters that highlight the roles of gallerists, collectors, museums, and critics in promoting the Dutch painter in early 20th-century Germany. Before World War I, over 100 exhibitions had already made van Gogh immensely popular among German media and artistic circles. The exhibition centers on 50 key works spanning 20 years of van Gogh's production, complemented by 70 additional pieces from private collections and museums worldwide that demonstrate his influence on the next generation of artists, particularly the Expressionists. Alongside famous names like Max Beckmann, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Alexej von Jawlensky, the show features rediscovered artists such as Peter August Böckstiegel and Theo von Brockhusen. The Städel Museum, which expects half a million visitors for the event, has historical significance: in 1908, it was among the first museums to acquire van Gogh's works for its modern art collection.