Spot(t)-Light. Richard Wagner in contemporary caricature

The successful special exhibition "Spot(t)-Light. Richard Wagner in contemporary caricature" runs until 12 April 2026.
Richard Wagner has been bold, exaggerated and omnipresent in the caricatures of the major European feuilletons since the 1860s. His striking appearance and egocentric lifestyle, the enormous ambition of his artistic endeavours, the pathetic nature of his work and, last but not least, his political statements provide ample targets for caricaturists and satirists.
Following the exhibitions "Volks-Wagner" and "Mensch Wagner" in previous years, the current exhibition at the Richard Wagner Museum is now the third approach to the giant of musical theatre that focuses on the "human-all-too-human" that Nietzsche already recognised in Wagner. Thanks to the co-operation with the collector Gunther Braam, it offers a comprehensive look at the genre of contemporary Wagner caricatures, which were already widely distributed during Wagner's lifetime due to the boom in newspapers as an early mass medium. Irony and satire, the hallmarks of caricature, have also become the exhibition's design principle: in contrast to their mass medium, which will be consigned to the scrap paper of tomorrow, the caricatures are presented here like the great works of the Old Masters in the large painting galleries, which radiate seriousness and dignity. And so it is undoubtedly only a small step from the sublime to the ridiculous - but sometimes the reverse is also true...


Spot(t)-Light. Richard Wagner in contemporary caricature
Special exhibition at the Richard Wagner Museum Bayreuth, new museum building
13 July to 5 October 2025 / Extended until 12 April 2026
Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Included in the admission price

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Last edited on 22.12.2025