For the first time the sculptural traditions of Africa and Europe will come together in a ‘conversation of the continents’ at the Bode-Museum. More than 70 major works of African sculpture from the Ethnologisches Museum will go on display alongside masterpieces from Byzantium, Italy, and central Europe. It will address major themes of human experience, such as power, death, beauty, memory, aesthetics, and identity. Unexpected similarities and differences become apparent: Michel Erhart’s late Gothic Virgin of Mercy appears next to a power figure from the Congo, which, like the Madonna, was also created to protect a community. Mythical heroes from central Africa take their place among late Gothic Christian figures and open up new perspectives on both collections. Find out more about the ‘Beyond Compare’ exhibition from the Bode-Museum’s website.
Preview the exhibition below | See Apollo’s Picks of the Week here
Chibinda Ilunga (19th century), Angola Chokwe. © SMB, Ethnologisches Museum, Claudia Obrocki
Jeanne de Navarre (c. 1300), Königin von Frankreich, Paris. © SMB, Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst, Antje Voigt
Mangaaka figure (19th century), Kongo, Yombe. © SMB, Ethnologisches Museum, Claudia Obrocki
Leopard (17th century), Messing, Königreich Benin. © SMB, Ethnologisches Museum, Martin Franken
Reliquary of a Holy Bishop (c. 1520), Brussels. © SMB, Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst, Antje Voigt
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Has the Fitzwilliam got its rehang right?