BUILD! Protest, revolt, justice
12.04.2025 - 03.08.2025 ,
Museum im Kulturspeicher Würzburg (Museum in the Culture Granary Würzburg)
- Bayerischer Museumspreis 2005.
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2025 marks the 500th anniversary of the Peasants' War. In 1525, Würzburg was one of the most important sites of these historic events. On the occasion of this year's city-wide commemoration, the MiK spans an artistic arc from the 19th century through classical modernism to the art of the GDR, the Federal Republic of Germany and the present day. The exhibition sheds light on the artistic examination of the Peasants' War and its political interpretation through the ages.
The rebels in the peasant uprisings of the 16th century wanted to "bring new order to the world" (Martin Luther). Even if the peasants did not achieve their goals in 1525: The vision of a new, fairer social order still moves humanity today. Revolt and revolution can therefore also have an auspicious ring to them. They herald the hope of a better world in which all people can live with more equality and human dignity.
The exhibition looks at the artistic reception of the Peasants' War in the changing political systems from the 19th century to the present day. It is striking that the Peasants' War was always taken up as a theme when it could serve as a historical example, either as a reminder or an inspiration. The first pictorial representations can be found in German painting in the 19th century, not coincidentally in connection with the democratic endeavours of the Vormärz and in the context of the 1848 revolution. It was taken up again in the early 20th century by artists who, like Käthe Kollwitz or Franz Wilhelm Seiwert, had dedicated themselves to the fight for socialism.
Last edited on 22.05.2025
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