It took a lot of courage to rescue artworks which were defamed by the Nazis as “degenerate”.
Quedlinburg native Herrmann Klumpp had that courage. During his studies at the Bauhaus in Dessau, he became friends with the family of Bauhaus master Lyonel Feininger. When Feininger, whose work was also classified as “degenerate” by the Nazis, left for the USA in 1937, he handed over a substantial bundle of his works to his friend Klumpp, who then kept them hidden in his hometown of Quedlinburg, saving them from destruction.
The Lyonel Feininger Gallery was founded in 1986 to take in the Hermann Klumpp collection and make it accessible to the public. The gallery is home to one of the largest collections of graphic prints worldwide by this important artist. The collection holds numerous watercolors and drawings, along with several photographs and objects. It also includes early paintings such as the “Self-portrait with clay pipe” from 1910 and the major work “Vollersroda I”, inspired by Cubism. The collection is rounded out by the works of other classical modernist artists, including Lovis Corinth, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, and Emil Nolde.
Art lovers will not want to miss this gem of the German museum world, and should bear in mind when planning their trip that Quedlinburg offers many other significant attractions, above all the numerous half-timbered houses from several centuries, inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site in 1994, the St. Servatius Church with its renowned treasury, the thousand-year-old Wiperti Church and the remains of the monastery of St. Mary on the Münzenberg. Quedlinburg has lots more to offer beyond its fascinating history. Due to its proximity to the Harz mountains, it is a perfect destination for hiking, for example on the Selketal trail, or for cycling.
Medieval meets modernist – the World Heritage city of Quedlinburg unites these contradictions. And a magnificent natural setting is a wonderful added bonus.
