The museum
After the death of the last occupant, Johannes Heinrich Behn (1847-1920), the Lübeck Senate was able to acquire the Behnhaus in Königstraße in 1920 with the help of donors and give it its new purpose of "permanently housing a Lübeck picture gallery". The museum director Carl Georg Heise (1890-1979) presented 19th century art here, including paintings by the Lübeck painters Friedrich Overbeck (1789-1869) and Gotthardt Kuehl (1850-1915). At the same time, he built up a collection of contemporary art, especially works of German Expressionism. A first exhibition took place in the Behnhaus in September 1921 and on 22 April 1923 the "Kunstsammlung im Behnschen Hause" was opened.
The works of Edvard Munch (1863-1944) formed the foundation for a collection of modern art. Heise saw Edvard Munch as the "pioneer" of a new understanding of art and emphasised his role model function for the German Expressionists. The Lübeck collector Dr Max Linde (1862-1940) owned paintings and prints by Munch. When he broke up his collection in the 1920s, Heise was able to acquire the paintings "The Sons of Dr Max Linde" (1903) and "Boy with a Red Jacket" (1903) for the Behnhaus. He bought prints by Munch and the "Self-Portrait after Influenza" (1919) on the art market.
He used these works to set up a Munch room in the reception room (ill. right). At the end of the 1920s, the Norwegian painter visited Lübeck once again. Munch also visited the Behnhaus and "his room", for which he donated the painting "From Travemünde" (1903).
The collection
Caspar David Friedrich and the art of Romanticism
The most important German Romantic artist is Caspar David Friedrich, whose landscape art illustrates religious, ideological and political themes. The great Romantic is represented in the Behnhaus with four paintings. In addition to three coastal views, the friendship painting "Kügelgen's Grave" is the highlight of the Romantic collection. The circle of Dresden and Berlin Romantics also includes Carl Gustav Carus, Johan Christian Clausen Dahl and Carl Blechen. Carus' famous "Studio Window", which illustrates the creation of romantic landscape art in the studio, is a veritable programme picture of Romanticism.
Friedrich Overbeck and the Nazarenes
Another facet of Romantic art can be seen in the work of Johann Friedrich Overbeck, who was born in Lübeck. As a founding member of the Lukasbund and head of the Nazarenes, his works are exemplary of 19th century religious figure painting. His "Self-Portrait with the Bible", "The Raising of Lazarus" and the "Family Portrait" are among Overbeck's major works. In addition to oil paintings, the Behnhaus also has an important collection of Nazarene drawings, including large-format cartoons.
Landscape paintings
Landscape painting is another focal point of the collection. In the first half of the 19th century, this was committed to "the longing for the south" and primarily focussed on Italian motifs. Rome in particular was the destination of many German artists before and after 1800, and works by Martin von Rohden, Ernst Fries and Carl Rottmann can be found in the collection
Impressionism
In the late 19th century, landscape painting was dominated by Impressionism: Max Liebermann's Wannsee Garden, Lovis Corinth's Walchensee pictures and Max Slevogt's Palatinate Views are examples of this in the collection. In addition, Hermann Linde and Heinrich Eduard Linde-Walther from Lübeck are among the most important representatives of German Impressionism.
Gotthardt Kuehl
The works of Gotthardt Kuehl are a highlight of the collection. The Lübeck-born painter combines the influences of 17th century Dutch painting with French Impressionism in his paintings. He worked in Munich, Paris and Dresden, but always returned to Lübeck to paint motifs such as brewery planks, the sailmaker's workshop or the orphanage in his home town.
Classical modernism
When the Behnhaus became a museum in the 1920s, the then director Carl Georg Heise built up a remarkable collection of contemporary art. Almost the entire collection was lost during the Nazi era. Works by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Max Pechstein, August Macke, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Max Beckmann, Lyonel Feininger and others now once again characterise the collection of classical modern art. In addition, there are Lübeck artists such as Albert Aereboe, Erich Dummer and Alfred Mahlau.
Edvard Munch and Lübeck
The last room of the Classical Modernism Gallery is dedicated to Edvard Munch. The Lübeck collector Dr Max Linde became aware of the Norwegian painter in 1902 and invited Munch to Lübeck. Munch was active in the Hanseatic city several times between 1902 and 1907. In addition to "Travemünde Houses" and numerous prints (Linde portfolio), Munch created the famous painting "The Sons of Dr Max Linde" here.
Graphic art collection
Hand drawings from Goethe's time, cartoons by the Nazarenes, 19th century drawings and prints from the classical modern period are also part of the museum's collection alongside the prints. A highlight is the Dräger/Stubbe collection with sheets by Caspar David Friedrich, Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Ludwig Richter, Adolph Menzel and many more.
Photography
Photographs - daguerreotypes, portraits and cityscapes - also form an important part of the collection, from which the art photography of the early 20th century stands out in particular, with works by Albert Renger-Patzsch, Hugo Erfurth, Hans Finsler, Emil Otto Hoppé, Umbo and others.