Drawings, photographs and prints 1890-1914

Heinrich Zille – Berlin Life

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Heinrich Zille (1858-1929), whose stereotypical portrayals of Berlin characters made him one of the most popular Berlin illustrators and photographers, was proud of being “a gutter artist”. From a poor social background himself, he portrayed the lives of ordinary people, sometimes with a view to creating a record of the times, sometimes more humorously. His works depict real life in the slums, with their soup kitchens, dingy backyards and bug-infested basement lodgings, as well as scenes at the city’s beaches, fairgrounds and other places of cheap entertainment. This exhibition was compiled for the Berlin Academy of Arts (of which Zille became a member in 1924) to mark the artist’s 150th anniversary in 2008 (curator: Matthias Flügge). It includes drawings, watercolour paintings, illustrations, photographs and “snapshots” – some with comments by the artist himself – from his most creative period between 1890 and 1914.

Opening at 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 1, 2009
Showing until April 12, 2009