The Wiesbaden Museum will present the collection of Ferdinand Wolfgang Neess as a permanent display in the Museum’s southern wing. The 700 objects on show will provide a cross-section of all Art Nouveau genres, revealing prime examples of high quality and stylistic virtuosity.

Jugendstil was the last genuinely European style of art, and it emerged in response to European industrialisation and historicism. Its proponents turned away from historicism, instead searching for a style that was proper to the era and bore its own, unique character. Their guiding principle was the imitation of nature, which they sought to achieve by means of curvilinear forms and floral ornamentation. However more sombre, symbolist forms also had an impact on fin­de­siècle art and culture.

The new display at the Wiesbaden Museum will bring this outstanding collection to a wider audience for the very first time and simultaneously position Wiesbaden on the map of Art Nouveau cities in Europe.

The museum’s art collection dates back to the former collection of Johann Isaak von Gerning from Frankfurt. Through purchases, donations and loans, the art collection has become one of the most important in Germany, especially in the area of the 19th and 20th centuries. For more information CLICK HERE.