Cosmos Runge

Realised in a Gesamtkunstwerk

Runge was inspired by the vision of uniting the art of painting, poetry, music and architecture in a so-called Gesamtkunstwerk, or total work of art, thereby exploring unchartered artistic terrain. In his paintings, he attempted to depict the understanding of nature based on the cycle of life, a concept typical of the Romantic Era. However, his many self-portraits also serve as a vivid testimony to his intensive questioning of himself as a person, which proved to be a starting point for his understanding of transcendence and cosmos. Runge used his depictions of children, particularly in paintings like “The Little Perthes” (1805) or “The Children Hülsenbeck” (1805), to establish a fresh look at the budding individual in art. The delicate scissor-cut silhouettes, masterpieces in their natural accuracy and abstraction, bear witness to his versatility.

Composition of the exhibition

This retrospective was divided into ten sections, which were organised partly according to genre, partly according to thematic and medium aspects: the self-portraits form the prelude, along with Runge’s early works and pieces from his time at the Academy, followed by his first independent compositions. The chapter entitled “Picture and Frame” featured his analysis of the arabesque in Romantic art. At the core of the exhibition were the four “Times of the Day” which represent the key to his artistic work. Then there was an excursus dedicated to Runge’s Theory of Colours, before the exhibition continued with the artist’s portraits. These were followed by a series of religious works and literary illustrations; a profusion of scissor-cuts and silhouettes forms the conclusion. In addition, the results of a research project by the Hamburg Kunsthalle’s conservation department documented the latest findings on Philipp Otto Runge’s painting technique.

Owing to the highly delicate nature of his works, Runge’s oeuvre had seldom been exhibited outside Hamburg. To mark the 200th anniversary of the artist’s death, Markus Bertsch, Jenns Howoldt and Andreas Stolzenburg, curators of the Hamburg Kunsthalle, had developed this comprehensive exhibition for Hamburg and Munich. Following the resounding success of the retrospective in Hamburg that ran from December 3, 2010 to March 13, 2011, we were particularly delighted to be able to present this pioneering innovator of Romanticism for the first time in Munich. Hirmer Verlag Munich has published a comprehensive, fully illustrated catalogue.