Paths to Modernism

Great art up close: to mark the anniversary, the exhibition ‘Paths to Modernism’ explores the pioneering role that collecting art played in the Wupper Valley in terms of awareness of and establishing the avant-garde movements at the beginning of the 20th century. Claude Monet, Auguste Rodin, Marianne von Werefkin, Wassily Kandinsky and Pablo Picasso are just a few of the particularly prominent names, behind which lie many more. But they illustrate clearly the openness to the present and the courage to embrace the future that characterised the way art was exhibited and collected in Wuppertal at the beginning of the 20th century. It was by no means a coincidence that it was today's Von der Heydt Museum that, in 1911, acquired the first painting by Pablo Picasso for a public collection – worldwide.

‘Paths to Modernism’ makes the core collection of Wuppertal's modern art, assembled at an early stage, visible and conceivable in a new way. The exhibition does not merely place these outstanding works within broader historical and art-historical contexts; it also juxtaposes them with counterparts from other significant private and public collections. In addition, numerous major works will temporarily return to Wuppertal – works that were first presented or acquired here but are now located elsewhere.