Kulturforum

Day three of my museum marathon and now a shift from the museum island to a different  museum district, the Kulturforum. Startpoint for this district is the ultra-moderm Potsdamer Platz, a sort of Berrlin Canary Wharf. Just massive modern commercial development.

 A chunk of Berlin wall to the left.

 Now, as anyone will tell you who knows me well, I have an appalling sense of direction. So even though the museum district is close to the station, I took a wrong turn and got lost. And came across, to my surprise, my own Firm's Berlin office!

So, eventually I came across the museums. Pretty much together are the Kunstgewerbe Museum (the applied arts museum) and the Gemaldegalerie (the fine art picture gallery) . I will start off with the picture gallery. But first I must comment on the architecture. Inside, the picture gallery provides almost perfect exhibition space. Externally, its just horrid. So sixties/seventies. Just hideous, boring and impractical. Really hard to even find the entrance. Sweeping expanses of useless space leading to utterly banal blocks.

 The collection though is very fine, very extensive, all surrounding an empty, bright atrium. The exhibition rooms all lead off this room.

Its a very sizeable collection, big on German and Italian Renaissance and a fine Dutch collection too.

Well, the above is a reflection of my interests, but attempts to reflect the range on offer. But last is the most famous painting on show, Caravaggio's Cupid Victorious.One could tell it was the most famed work, because jst before I reached it an art class arrived, gathered around it a and were lectured too. For ages. I had to come back 3 times before they had finally dispersed and let me have a look. Phenomenal talent Caravaggio (I know, hardly a new insight!), and obviously obsessed with the naked male form, which seemes to go down well with at least some of his Catholic bishop patrons. Surprise, surprise. Take off the wings, and isn't this kiddie porn? But so much harder to do before photography. And he could paint far better than most people can achieve with a camera.