Meeting Liebermann

Review Meeting Liebermann – an exhibition cooperation of ullstein bild collection with the Liebermann Villa am Wannsee

We look back on an all-round happy cooperation on the occasion of the exhibition Meeting Liebermann - Photo portraits from the Ullstein Collection. The original exhibits from the Ullstein photographic collection were the focus of a show that lasted more than three months and attracted some 23,270 visitors to Liebermann's country house on Wannsee. After a number of press guests and interviews, not only did exhibition visitors from several continents come together here, of which the guestbook entries and comments speak, but also the participants in a rich supporting program. Here, lecturers intensively dealing with the topics of the exhibition spoke and discussed.

Aspects of press photography at ullstein bild

The first talk (via Zoom) took place on April 13, 2023 and was titled Press Photography in the Weimar Republic, one of the fundamental themes for the exhibition. Prof. Dr. Annette Vowinckel, Leibniz Center for Contemporary History Research Potsdam, and Anna Rosemann from the German Museum of Technology Berlin addressed the topic from different angles. They highlighted the development of press photography and agencies since the 19th century, groundbreaking technical and economic changes, and editorial clients for the decisive years of the Weimar Republic, especially at Ullstein.

The second talk on May 11, 2023, was on The history of the House of Ullstein. The American author Phoebe Kornfeld (Passionate Publishers) and the Ullstein descendant and director Geoffrey Layton described the latest findings and fundamental connections in the history of the media, the company and the family at Ullstein before a sold-out audience on the springtime terrace of the Liebermann Villa. It was an impressive event, because contemporary history became clearly tangible here.

The third and last talk on June 22, 2023 was dedicated to Liebermann, portraits and portrait photography. Katja Schumann, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, and Maximilian Westphal, Digitale Kultur MFG Baden-Württemberg, discussed the significance of two important portrait photographers, Nicola Perscheid and Fritz Eschen, who were also represented with their works in the exhibition and who had approached the artist Max Liebermann in an extremely eloquent manner.

Gallery, exhibition opening, audio guide and publication

Feel free to take a look back at this exhibition with us at any time: thanks to the gallery below, thanks to the exhibition opening, thanks to the audio guide and the accompanying exhibition catalog Meeting Liebermann with essays by Dr. Lucy Wasensteiner, Dr. Katrin Bomhoff, Viktoria Bernadette Krieger.

All images (c) Liebermann-Villa.