The Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud presents Panopticon – The Secret Treasures of the Wallraf on view 21 Oct. 2011 – 22 Jan. 2012.
Thanks to a top-notch collection of paintings and sculptures from the late 13th to the early 20th century, the Wallraf numbers among the foremost art galleries in Europe. But on its three exhibition floors, Cologne’s senior museum can only display around a quarter of its treasures. Most of the 2,000 or so paintings lead a Sleeping Beauty existence behind locked doors in the depository, a place to which only initiates have access.
On the occasion of its sesquicentennial, the Wallraf is casting aside the shroud of mystery that surrounds this treasure chest and, under the title “Panopticon”, is putting on display more than 500 paintings and sculptures by well-known and lesser-known masters, such as Anthony van Dyck, Gustave Courbet and Johannes Niessen.
This works can then be examined to see if they deserve inclusion in the permanent exhibition. Visitors will have the opportunity to choose their favourite picture. The one with the most votes will be put on show for at least a year. www.wallraf.museum