| Museum
of East Asian Art in Cologne:
art treasures from China, Korea and Japan
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Museum of East
Asian Art in Cologne |
The Museum of East Asian Art in Cologne houses Chinese,
Korean and Japanese art. It was founded in 1913 and was the first
museum of its kind in Germany. The core of the permanent collection
is the Japanese collection of the founder of the museum Adolf
Fischer (1857-1914) and his wife Frieda Bartdorff (1874-1945).
Their collection which includes Buddhist painting and wood sculpture,
Japanese screen painting, colour wood prints and lacquer work
is regarded as one of the most important collections in Europe.
Other focal points of the permanent collection are religious bronze
objects from China, and Chinese, Korean and Japanese ceramics,
above all Korean celadon objects of the Koryo dynasty from the
10th to the 14th century with their unique glaze. The museum’s
collection of lacquer work and screens are also of international
standing.
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Elegant gathering in the western garden, Songam,
dated 1794. Eight-fold screen, ink and colours on paper |
Among the most important donations of the post-war
period is the gift of Chinese cult objects in bronze and traditional
furniture from the collection of Hans-Jürgen von Lochow.
Another highlight is the Hans Wilhelm Siegel (1903-1997) collection
of Chinese ceramics which was bought by the museum. Exquisite
Chinese Buddhist sculpture, bronze objects and ceramics from the
Tang period were added in the 90s by acquisitions made by the
Orientstiftung (orient foundation) and the Fördererkreis
(friends) and loans made by Peter and Irene Ludwig. Chinese and
Japanese calligraphy are well represented thanks to the acquisition
of the calligraphic collection of Heinz Götze (1912-2001).
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Okita Kitagawa
Utamaro (1750-1806), wood-block print, Oban, 37,9 x25,2
cm, Japan, 1793 |
The museum building was opened in 1977 and underlines
the cultural importance of the collection. It was designed by
Kunio Maekawa (1905-1986) who was a pupil of Le Corbusier. Its
severe, transparently structured cubes take up old Japanese traditions
and at the same time develop a new and modern iconography. The
complex is centred round a landscaped garden in the tradition
of Japanese gardens of meditation created by the Japanese sculptor
Masayuke Nagare (born 1923). This symbiosis of Japanese architecture
and garden design together with the presentation of oriental art
gives this Cologne museum a well-defined, unmistakable identity.
In keeping with the concept of the founder of the museum, Adolf
Fischer, the exhibits are not presented as documents of cultural
history but as autonomous works of art which illustrate specific
styles of a period or individual artist. Fischer’s open
approach eschewing pre-conceived notions has since been confirmed
again and again by research in the field of oriental art history.
Although the exhibition area has been expanded, a large proportion
of the collection cannot be exhibited and so the presentation
is changed several times a year. In addition, there are regular
themed exhibitions with exhibits from the permanent collection.
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)
, wood-block print, Oban, 37,9 x25,2 cm, Japan, 1793',''))