Wallraf-Richartz-Museum
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Established | July 1, 1871 |
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Location | Obenmarspforten 40 Am Kölner Rathaus 50667 Cologne, Germany |
Coordinates | 50°56′16″N 6°57′33″E / 50.9378848°N 6.9592605°E |
Collection size |
European Fine art: Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Impressionist |
Director | Dr. Marcus Dekiert |
Public transit access | 5 16 18 Köln Hbf |
Website | Official website |
The Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud is one of the three major museums in Cologne, Germany. It houses an art gallery with a collection of fine art from the medieval period to the early twentieth century.
The museum dates back to the year 1824, when the comprehensive collection of medieval art from Franz Ferdinand Wallraf came to the city of Cologne by inheritance. The first building was donated by Johann Heinrich Richartz, and the museum was opened in 1861.
The collection was regularly expanded by donations, especially the Haubrich collection of contemporary art, in 1946. In 1976, on the occasion of the donation of Mr. and Mrs. Ludwig, the collection was split. The new Museum Ludwig took over the exhibition of the 20th century art.
The current building from 2001, near the Cologne City Hall, was designed by Oswald Mathias Ungers. Also in 2001, Swiss collector Gérard Corboud gave his impressionist and postimpressionist collection of over 170 works to the museum as a permanent loan. The museum then added "Fondation Corboud" to its name.
The Madonna in the Rose Bower, shown at right, is among the Gothic paintings in the collection of the Wallraf-Richartz Museum. It was created by Stefan Lochner, who lived in Germany between 1410 and 1451, mainly working in Cologne. He is considered a late Gothic painter. His work usually has a clean appearance, combining the Gothic attention to long flowing lines with brilliant colors and a Flemish influence of realism and attention to detail. This painting is considered typical of his style. It was executed about 1450, and shows the Virgin and Child reposing in a blooming rose arbor that is attended by Lochner's characteristic, child angels.