Berlin's Top 10 : Kulturforum (part 2) - Gemäldegalerie & Architecture in the Kulturforum

Portrait of Hieronymus Holzschuher
Albrecht Dürer painted this portrait of the mayor of Nuremburg in 1529.
Portrait of the Merchant Georg Gisze
This painting by Hans Holbein (1532), showing the merchant counting his money, reflects the rise of the wealthy citizen during the Renaissance.
Madonna with Child and Singing Angels
A 1477 painting by Sandro Botticelli depicts the Madonna and Child, surrounded by angels carrying lilies.
The Birth of Christ
Martin Schongauer’s altar painting (c.1480) is one of only a few religious paintings by the artist that have been preserved.
Victorious Eros
Caravaggio’s painting (1602), after Vergil’s model, shows Eros, the god of love, trampling underfoot the symbols of culture, glory, science and power.
Portrait of Hendrickje Stoffels
In a 1656–7 portrait of his lover Hendrickje Stoffels, Rembrandt’s focus is entirely on the subject.
The French Comedy
This painting by Antoine Watteau belonged to Frederick the Great’s collection.
The Glass of Wine
Skilfully composed by Vermeer (1658–61), this scene shows a couple drinking wine.
Venus and the Organ Player
This Titian (1550–2) reflects the playful sensuality typical of the Italian Renaissance.
Dutch Proverbs
More than 100 proverbs were incorporated into this painting by Pieter Brueghel (1559).

Architecture in the Kulturforum

The Kulturforum was planned to fill the large area between Potsdamer Straße and Leipziger Platz that had been destroyed during World War II. The original idea for a varied townscape of museums and parks is credited to the Berlin architect Hans Scharoun, who had designed plans for this in the years 1946 and 1957. It was also Scharoun who, with the construction of the Philharmonie in 1963, set the character of the Kulturforum: the tent-like, golden roofs of the music hall, the Kammermusiksaal and the Staatsbibliothek, all designed by Scharoun and – after his death – realized by his pupil Edgar Wisniewski, are today among Berlin’s best-known landmarks. All the buildings are characterized by the generous proportions of their rooms. In their day, the Scharoun buildings were highly controversial but today they are considered to be classics of modern architecture.

Mies van der Rohe’s Nationalgalerie The Neue Nationalgalerie, built to plans by Mies van der Rohe in 1965–8, is the only museum in the world designed by this Bauhaus architect. Having emigrated to the USA in 1937, van der Rohe returned to Berlin for its construction.