Description
The Hessian State Museum Darmstadt is one of the major museums in Germany and combines numerous diverse collections from the fields of art, cultural, and natural history. Such a wide range of exhibition areas gives the HLMD a unique character among the significant museums of Europe. As impressive as the diversity is the quality of the collections: From Pieter Brueghel and Peter Paul Rubens to Arnold Böcklin, August Macke, and Gerhard Richter, the painting collection includes over 440 exhibited works. The extensive holdings of the graphic collection feature drawings by Albrecht Dürer, Michelangelo, and Rembrandt van Rijn. The collection of medieval treasure art and ivory works is among the most precious of its kind. The Art Nouveau department, with its jewelry collection and room ensembles by Henry van de Velde, is also renowned worldwide. Among the internationally significant holdings is the largest work complex by Joseph Beuys, the ”Block Beuys,“ comprising seven rooms and 290 works. Of great scientific importance are numerous objects from the natural history collections. The zoological dioramas, architecturally integrated into the building in 1906, are world-famous, as are the skeletal herd of over 100 animals and the sensational reconstructions of eleven hominid busts. In the field of earth and life history, the numerous fossils from the UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site Messel Pit, fossils from the Tertiary period from the Upper Rhine, or the mineralogical collection are impressive. The origins of the State Museum date back to the late 18th century. At the end of the 19th century, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig commissioned architect Alfred Messel (1853-1909) to realize a new museum building. With the building completed in 1906, he succeeded in giving each collection a specific architectural setting with stylistically matching details and optimal exhibition possibilities. The museum was celebrated as a total work of art. In 1984, the Messel building was expanded with an annex by architect Reinhold Kargel. The modern building houses the painting gallery. From 2007 to 2013, the buildings underwent extensive renovations, so that Alfred Messel´s architecture now shines in fresh splendor. The presentation of the collections has been newly conceived both structurally and content-wise. Some objects are on display for the first time and after many decades. Thus, after its reopening in the fall of 2014, the museum presents itself as a rejuvenated, future-oriented institution where modern technology and exhibition design are as effective as the history of the museum and its building is palpable.
