Max Liebermann sparked the first avant-garde movement in Germany with his impressionist paintings. As a collector and promoter of French Impressionism and as the president of the Berlin Secession, he brought a sense of internationalism to the art world in the nationally focused German Empire. Unlike France, with its undisputed art capital, Paris, art in Germany was influenced by many centers; aside from Berlin, Impressionism also developed in Dresden, Hamburg, Karlsruhe, Leipzig, Munich, and Stuttgart. The exhibition Impressionism in Germany: Max Liebermann and His Time explores the diversity of themes and styles between 1870 and 1930. It features not only canonized painters like Lovis Corinth, Max Liebermann, and Max Slevogt, but also lesser-known artists like Maria Slavona and Lesser Ury.

The symposium is held in preparation for the exhibition that will be on view from October 3, 2025 to February 8, 2026 at the Museum Frieder Burda and at the Museum Barberini from February 28 to June 7, 2026. This expansive survey exhibition on German Impressionism brings together over 90 paintings from notable collections, including the Alte Nationalgalerie Berlin, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Städel Museum in Frankfurt, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Tate in London, Kunsthalle Mannheim, and Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

The speakers will be:

• Dr. Alexander Bastek, Museum Behnhaus Drägerhaus, Lübeck
• Dr. Karoline Feulner, Landesmuseum Mainz
• Dr. Barbara Schäfer, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne
• Prof. Dr. Lucy Wasensteiner, Universität Bonn
• Dr. Ortrud Westheider, Museum Barberini, Potsdam