All of this is me! The donation Christoph Müller I

The works on paper – drawings, prints, and watercolors – not only showcase a broad panorama of pictorial themes spanning five centuries, but above all reflect the collector's personal interests and influences. Four consecutive presentations will each explore a different facet of the collection.


Portraits and plant studies, harbor and history paintings, landscapes, and genre scenes – this exhibition showcases the entire spectrum of an extraordinary collection. With works from the early modern period to the present, a fascinating cross-section of European art history unfolds.


The exhibited works on paper come from Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and France – they tell of people and nature, of history and everyday life, of faith, emotion, and creative power. On display are figure and nude depictions, seascapes, nature studies, animals, forests, and much more.


Christoph Müller (1938–2024) was a German publisher, theater and art critic, art collector, and patron of the arts, who made generous donations to public museums during his lifetime.
As editor-in-chief and co-publisher of the Schwäbisches Tagblatt newspaper, he shaped the German media landscape from 1969 to 2004. His passion for art is reflected in an impressive collection encompassing works from different eras and regions. He collected in a diverse manner, guided by personal preferences but also by profound expertise.

He had a particular interest in Dutch art of the 16th and 17th centuries. In 2007, he donated a significant collection of 370 Dutch and Flemish drawings and prints from the 16th to 18th centuries to the Kupferstichkabinett. The donation, which is to be realized this year, will sustainably supplement and enrich the Kupferstichkabinett's holdings in all areas of the collection.


Christoph Müller passed away in Berlin in 2024 at the age of 86. The exhibition is intended as a tribute to his work supporting the arts, as a token of gratitude, and as an invitation to share the joy of art – a thought that always motivated him.

Part of the generous donation will be presented to the public in four changing exhibitions in the Cabinet of the Gemäldegalerie from May 20, 2025, to June 14, 2026.

A World of Words and Images

May 20 – August 24, 2025

The presentation draws on Müller's activities as a publisher and critic, as well as his passion for art and collecting. Interest in art and culture manifests itself in many different ways: Some people collect books and paintings, others are interested in music, religious, and philosophical topics. Some of the works on display are dedicated to the artistic representation of knowledge, its transmission and acquisition through reading, as well as creativity and intellectual exchange.


Further Presentations

Encounters

August 26 – November 30, 2025
On Traveling and Being at Home


December 2, 2025 – March 8, 2026
Prints and Life's Work
March 10 – June 14, 2026

A special exhibition by the Kupferstichkabinett (Cabinet of Prints and Drawings) in the Gemäldegalerie (Picture Gallery) of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin