Education, commissioned art, aesthetic will?

Humboldt-Universität has a rich collection of valuable art treasures. The collection also contains many works from the GDR era, on whose soil the HU stood from 1949 to 1990. In many cases, however, their origin and provenance is unclear. In the summer semester of 2024, students took part in a course on art from the GDR era. They researched object histories in archives and expert discussions, looked at the building history of the HU and researched art teaching at the university.

The results of the student research project can be visited in the Humboldt Lab from 14 to 27 October. The intervention Education, commissioned art, aesthetic will? The GDR art collection at the HU shows numerous original objects and some reproductions. These include commissioned works such as portraits of the Humboldt brothers; works inspired by socialist ideas such as Heinrich Tessmer’s triptych Stations; a wall painting from the early phase of the GDR, which came to light a few years ago behind wooden panelling; and student works from art education from the 1960s to the 1980s.