Hamburger Kunsthalle
13 June to 12 October 2025
The major exhibition RENDEZVOUS OF DREAMS at the Hamburger Kunsthalle commemorates the 100th anniversary of the founding of international Surrealism by examining its striking affinities with German Romanticism. Taking as its starting point a novel comparison of two paintings in the Kunsthalle, the show places over 230 iconic works by both great and lesser-known Surrealists – among them Max Ernst, Meret Oppenheim, René Magritte, André Masson, Salvador Dalí, Dorothea Tanning, Paul Klee, Valentine Hugo, Victor Brauner and Toyen – in new contexts as well as stimulating juxtapositions with more than 70 masterpieces of German Romanticism, including works by Caspar David Friedrich and Philipp Otto Runge alongside examples of Romantic poetry.
Themes that fascinated German Romantic artists and writers, such as the night and dreams – understood as a kind of higher vision – as well as the power of imagination, the microcosm versus the macrocosm, and a special feeling for nature would serve as sources of inspiration for Surrealism one century later. The intellectual attitudes and pictorial inventions of Friedrich, Runge, Carl Gustav Carus, Carl Wilhelm Kolbe and many more, along with the writings of Novalis, Achim and Bettine v. Arnim, Karoline v. Günderrode, Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe, Friedrich Hölderlin and Heinrich von Kleist, would play an important role in the search for a revolutionary form of art in the twentieth century.
Astoundingly, this recourse to Romanticism was even more pronounced in the years of war, resistance and exile, when Surrealism took up the mantle of the earlier move- ment as a reaction against the »disenchantment of the world«, reflecting its revolutionary dimension. Both movements focused on evoking a certain attitude toward life and calling into question assumptions about reality and its limitations – culminating in nothing less than a transformation of individual and society. Though born out of a different historical situation, Novalis’s credo of the »romanticisation of the world« seems to anticipate the Surrealists’ striving for a higher spiritual revolt in the form of a »surreality«.
When the two movements are considered together based on intriguing compar- isons as well as explicit tributes, in some cases involving works selected from the Kunsthalle’s own collection, certain analogies and differences become manifest. One example is Max Ernst’s painting A Beautiful Morning (Un beau matin), an homage to Morning (first version) (1808) by Philipp Otto Runge. Produced after his first visit to the Hamburger Kunsthalle in 1965, Ernst’s painting makes refer- ence both conceptually and formally to his revered Romantic colleague. The two important works have been in the Kunsthalle’s collection for more than 60 years but are now being analysed and presented together for the very first time. New research has also brought to light another surprising Hamburg reception history, in this case for Max Ernst’s programmatic Surrealist painting The Rendezvous of Friends (1922).
In another section of the exhibition, Julian Rosefeldt’s contemporary video Manifesto (2015) highlights the enduring relevance of the question André Breton posed 100 years ago in his Surrealist manifesto regard- ing the importance of imagination, dreaming and the exploration of other levels of reality. RENDEZVOUS OF DREAMS thus brings together specific local as well as far-flung international discoveries spanning different media and periods.
For this large-scale exhibition, the Hamburger Kunsthalle is collaborating for the first time with the Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’Art Moderne, Paris, enabling it to present over 30 exceptional works on loan including Salvador Dalí’s The Invisible Sleeping Woman, Horse, Lion etc. (1930) and René Magritte’s The Double Secret (1927). In its entirety, the comprehensive exhibition offers visitors the unique opportunity to experience world-renowned artworks, some of them never before shown, from over 80 international, private and public collections in the USA, Mexico and several European countries, including the Philadel- phia Museum of Art; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Colección FEMSA (Mexico); the Centre Pompidou in Paris; the Tate London; the Kunsthalle Prague; the Kunsthaus Zürich and many more, as well as more than 30 international private collections, some of which have remained hidden until now.
The works on display date from the late eighteenth century to 1980 and cover all media, comprising around 300 paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, films, sculptures and objects by 65 Surrealists and 30 Romantic artists. Among them are many still under-recognised Surrealists such as Meret Oppenheim, Dorothea Tanning, Remedios Varo, Suzanne Van Damme and Jane Graverol. A large number of archival documents and manuscripts in the show trace the reception of the German Romantics by the Surrealists.
In 15 chapters, including Friendship, Dream, Metamorphoses, Perception of Nature, Love, Ruin, Forest, Cosmos and Hymns to the Night, the extensive exhibition compares and contrasts themes, philosophical concepts, paradigms, motifs and methods in visual art, poetry and theory, beginning with a consideration of the Manifesto of Surrealism by André Breton and explicit homages by the Surrealists to the German Romantics.
RENDEZVOUS OF DREAMS comprises three exhibition areas and extends over a total of 2,000 square metres, from the Hubertus Wald Forum (1/Dream), via a »Passage« consisting of several cabinets providing background information, to the gallery before the Rotunda in the Lichtwark building (2/Forest) and finally the stately domed hall (3/Cosmos).
In the »Passage« between the sections, the Kunsthalle’s Art Education and Outreach department has devised interactive activities that allow viewers to draw inspiration from the original works to try out various artistic techniques, Surrealist processes and games. In addition to a photo station and the Surreal- ist game Cadavre Exquis, Romantic and Surrealist literature enables visitors to immerse themselves in the artists’ world. Another station offers sylvan sounds and scents that attune visitors to the exhibition section 2/Forest.
A wide range of guided tours for the public or for private booking provide in-depth information on the exhibits, as do the audio tours for adults (German/English) and for children and young people aged 8 and over (German), which are available free of charge via the Kunsthalle app. On one Saturday a month, various artistic techniques can be tried out at the Open Studio for the whole family.
The comprehensive event programme offers expert and artist talks as well as panel discussions at the Hamburger Kunsthalle and the Abaton Cinema, which will be screening a number of Surrealist films toaccompany the exhibition. For example, the internationally renowned artist Julian Rosefeldt will speak about the background behind his work Manifesto in the show and the power of Surrealism (4 Sept.). The Salon Surreal (18 Sept.) will musically spotlight current topics relating to the exhibition and host some interesting guests. And the young friends’ society, Junge Freunde der Kunsthalle e. V., is organising a big party to round out the show (3 July).
An extensive, richly illustrated catalogue (344 pages, Hatje Cantz Verlag) is available for 45 euros at the museum store or via www.freunde-der-kunsthalle.de at the bookstore price of 58 euros. Over 30 inter- national scholars of Surrealism present here the latest findings on the relationship between international Surrealism and German Romanticism, organised according to the chapters of the exhibition and with a focus on individual protagonists.
The exhibition is part of the international celebration marking the 100th anniversary of the Manifesto of Surrealism and is being hosted in varying forms at the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels (21 February to 21 July 2024), the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (4 September 2024 to 13 January 2025), the Fundación Mapfre, Madrid (6 February to 11 May 2025), and the Philadelphia Museum of Art (8 November 2025 to 16 February 2026).
Curator: Dr. Annabelle Görgen-Lammers
Assistant curators: Vera Bornkessel and Maria Sitte
Research assistant: Laura Förster (Jan.–Sept. 2024)
Dr. Carsten Brosda, Hamburg Senator for Culture and Media: »Following the major exhibition marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of Caspar David Friedrich, the Hamburger Kunsthalle is now celebrating 100 years of Surrealism. In keeping with the collection’s focus on Romanticism, the exhibition explores for the first time the Surrealists’ fascination with the German Romantics and spotlights the extent to which artists reacted to social upheavals in their works. The cooperation with the Centre Pompidou and other renowned museums demonstrates what is possible when cultural institutions work together across borders. The Kunsthalle is thus once again creating a first-rate cultural occasion for residents of the city and a reason for visitors from all over to flock to Hamburg.«
Michael Behrendt, Chairman of the Hapag-Lloyd Foundation: »Surrealism, whose 100th anniversary we are celebrating with this exhibition, promoted values that are more important today than ever: questioning what is familiar, appreciating the power of the imagination and strengthening interpersonal dialogue. We therefore immediately agreed to act as the main sponsor for this marvellous retrospective as our contribution to the creative dynamism and cultural diversity of our ›home port‹ of Hamburg.«
Dr. Ekkehard Nümann, Chairman of the Freunde der Kunsthalle e. V.: »We are once again delighted to be able to provide significant support for such a trailblazing exhibition project. The origins of this show lie in a pair of paintings by Max Ernst and Philipp Otto Runge in the collection of the Hamburger Kunsthalle that have prompted a joint consideration of German Romanticism and international Surrealism. Comparing these two masterpieces has opened up new areas of research while offering art-lovers a fresh perspective on the two periods.«
Prof. Dr. Frank Druffner, Acting Secretary General of the Kulturstiftung der Länder: »With this exhibition, the Hamburger Kunsthalle is proposing a new approach to two important focal points of its collection by juxtaposing works of German Romanticism for the first time with the international Surrealist movement in order to trace intellectual affinities across time and national borders. I am particularly pleased that the achievements of female artists from both movements are also being honoured here – thanks to prestigious international loans – so that attention can be drawn to this gap in the history of art.«
Images
Max Ernst (1891–1976)
Der Hausengel (Der Triumph des
Surrealismus) (L'ange du foyer (Le
triomphe du surréalisme)), 1937
Öl auf Leinwand, 114,2 x 146,5 cm
Collection Hersaint
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025
Foto: Vincent Everarts Photography
Brussels
Max Ernst (1891–1976)
Ein schöner Morgen (Un beau
matin), 1965
Öl auf Leinwand, 92 x 73 cm
Hamburger Kunsthalle,
Dauerleihgabe der Stiftung
Hamburger Kunstsammlungen,
© Hamburger Kunsthalle / bpk
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025
Foto: Elke Walford
Philipp Otto Runge (1777–1810) Der Morgen (erste Fassung), 1808 Öl auf Leinwand, 109 x 85,5 cm Hamburger Kunsthalle © Hamburger Kunsthalle / bpk Foto: Elke Walford
Toyen (1902–1980)
Traum (Sen), 1937
Öl auf Leinwand, 81,1 x 100 cm
Kunsthalle Praha
© Kunsthalle Praha
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025
Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer,
um 1817
Öl auf Leinwand, 94,8 x 74,8 cm Dauerleihgabe der Stiftung Ham- burger Kunstsammlungen © SHK / Hamburger Kunsthalle / bpk Foto: Elke Walford
Paul Nash (1889–1946)
Totes Meer, 1940/41
Öl auf Leinwand, 102 x 152,4 cm
Tate: Presented by the War Artists
Advisory Committee 1946
© Tate
René Magritte (1898–1967)
Die Zukunft der Statuen (L’avenir
des statues), 1932
Öl auf Gipsguss (Totenmaske
Napoleons), 33,5 x 16,5 x 19 cm
Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg
© Lehmbruck Museum, Duisburg /
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025
Foto: Bernd Kirtz
Man Ray (1890–1976)
Sternwartenzeit – Die Liebenden
(À l'heure de l'observatoire – Les
Amoureux), 1970
Lithografie, 68 x 104 cm
Clo and Marcel Fleiss Collection,
Courtesy Galerie 1900–2000, Paris
© Courtesy Galerie 1900–2000,
Paris
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025
Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840)
Das Eismeer, 1823/24
Öl auf Leinwand, 96,7 x 126,9 cm
Hamburger Kunsthalle © Hamburger Kunsthalle / bpk
Foto: Elke Walford
Max Ernst (1891–1976)Das Rendezvous der Freunde (Au rendezvous des amis), 1922 Öl auf Leinwand, 130 x 195 cm Museum Ludwig / Erworben mit Unterstützung des Landes Nord- rhein-Westfalen 1971 © Rheinisches Bildarchiv Köln © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025
Marion Adnams (1898–1995)
Eine Kerze des Verstehens in
deinem Herzen (A Candle of Under-
standing in Thine Heart), 1964
Tempera auf Karton, 58,4 x 48,2 cm
RAW Collection © 2025 Artist Estate courtesy
of RAW
Dorothea Tanning (1910–2012)
Geburtstag (Birthday), 1942
Öl auf Leinwand, 102,2 x 64,8 cm
Philadelphia Museum of Art: 125th
Anniversary Acquisition. Purchased
with funds contributed by C.K.
Williams, II, 1999 © Courtesy of the Philadelphia
Museum of Art © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025
Salvador Dalí (1904–1989)
Weiche Konstruktion mit gekochten
Bohnen (Vorahnung des Bürger-
kriegs) (Soft Construction with
Boiled Beans (Premonition of Civil
War)), 1936 Öl auf Leinwand, 99 x 100 cm
Philadelphia Museum of Art: The
Louise and Walter Arensberg Collec-
tion, 1950
© Courtesy of the Philadelphia
Museum of Art / Salvador Dali, Gala-
Salvador Dali Foundation
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025
René Magritte (1898–1967)
Das doppelte Geheimnis (Le double
secret), 1927
Öl auf Leinwand, 114 x 162 cm
Centre Pompidou, Paris, Musée
national d’art moderne / Centre de
création industrielle, Ankauf 1980,
© bpk / CNAC-MNAM / Georges
Meguerditchian
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2025
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