Collection histories
From the 19th century to modernism
This collection presentation draws various threads through the holdings of the Chemnitz Art Collections. It traces the course of these stories through three centuries, interweaving the various genres of art from painting to textile art. In this way, outstanding examples of 19th and early 20th century painting are placed in dialogue with decorative art objects and textiles. These illuminate the significance of Chemnitz as a hotspot of the textile industry at the beginning of the 20th century. Stockings, lace, textiles, silks and samplers are sensual testimonies of a time in which a strengthening bourgeoisie developed a new lifestyle. Prosperity grew out of work, education and beauty out of wealth. Numerous entrepreneurial families in the city closely supported the newly founded Kunsthütte and later the newly built museum on Theaterplatz. Pointed dialogues between paintings, sculptures, posters and objects point to what was valued and desired in Saxony at the time. Interventions with contemporary art illuminate the current interest in an engagement with the collection.
