Visiting Berlin has been a dream of mine for long, but an opportunity to visit this diverse city made me realize why Berlin is known as an art lover’s paradise.

Berlin has been around, in part, since 1237 AD, specifically the part known as Colln. Berlin itself is referenced in 1244. The city is home to three UNESCO World Heritage sites, being named “UNESCO City of Design”

Berlin also boasts nine castles, six manors, three active opera houses (the most in the world), and the longest open air gallery in the world. This gallery extends the length of 1,216 meters of a surviving piece of the Berlin Wall with 105 paintings from artists from 21 countries across the world.

A city nine times bigger than Paris, with more bridges than Venice, navigable by boat with over 180 km of waterways, four universities, four art schools, residents from over 184 nations, Berlin is one of the most fascinating and fun to explore cities in the world.

If you want to learn more about what’s written in the history books, you’ve got a city to conquer and explore, and that’s Berlin. Berlin’s rich history has spread all over the world, thanks to its legendary noble scientists, philosophers, and groundbreaking artists.

Many modern art movements owe a substantial nod to the art schools and artists of Germany.

Diverse in artistic expression

The Berlin Art Scene is very diverse from the authentic street art culture of East Berlin to the sophisticated contemporary art scene of West Berlin.

When they saw the other side of the wall for the first time, East Berliners were met with a riot of color and image done in ways they had never seen before. This sparked a street art movement in East Berlin that has evolved into a very deep and moving tradition.

A book store, Neurotitan located in House 39 hackescher markt is a must visit to see what Berlin has to offer in terms of creativity!

The artist BLU creates large scale pieces that have a puzzle like message that is poignant when you see it. The artist is creative and innovative in using street art to create wall painted animations on film.

The crew 1UP has gained popularity with their simple yet beautiful tags throughout the city in uncommon and hard to reach places. They have released a documentary called One United Power, the full name of their crew.

Roland Brukner, a.k.a. Linda’sEx, is a street artist in Berlin that gained media attention from the sad and mopey figures he painted that were pining for a girl named Linda. The city became so involved in the figure’s heartbreak that radio and television followed the story. Other street artists posted responses. Museums have since exhibited the story of Linda’sEx.

The artist Alias uses carefully drawn stencils to create work that is similar to that of Banksy. His work is usually a clever pun or message and is created to fit in with the environment.

Other areas of the city have artistic subcultures as well. West Berlin his home to the Neu West Berlin, a contemporary art space of nine stories that includes studios, ateliers, event spaces, show rooms, and exhibition rooms. There are over 80 artists that work in the space.

West Berlin artists regularly meet at Enzian, a bar that was founded as a refuge for punk and new age musicians but that has become a networking hub for artists of all types to work and inspire each other across mediums.

Hosts world-renowned museums and art spaces

The city hosts art with diversity in space as well. The Sammlung Boros collection is housed in a World War II bunker, featuring renowned contemporary artists with intimate tours of 12 visitors at a time.

The Haus am Waldsee is a fairytale like villa with an adjoining sculpture garden that not only shows the greatest contemporary art to date, but is also a platform for artists that currently live and create in the city. You can even view the private collection of German art collector Thomas Olbricht in his residential space. The collection contains works from the 16th century to contemporary pieces.

Museum Island on the Spree River is a UNESCO World Heritage site that is home to five museums housed within grand examples of exquisite architecture. A lot of street art can be seen all around Berlin that has an obvious, or sometimes very subtle, anti-establishment hint in it.

The Pergamon museum houses the Pergamon altar frieze from the Pergamon acropolis.

Built as an altar of Zeus, it dates to 165 B.C. Works housed in the other four museums on Museum Island include the Bust of Nefertiti, Byzantine art, Egyptian art, Biedermeier, and others.

The Neue Nationalgalerie is one of the most influential contemporary art museums in the world. It is a National Monument of Germany and includes 20th century contemporary art and sculpture gardens.

Art Fairs with international presence

The Berlin Art Week is annual celebration of art that takes place every September. During the month, the most important art fairs in Europe. Hundreds of galleries take place in this yearly event.

Preview Berlin, an art fair that takes place in various locations, often shows work from not only emerging artists, but art students in addition to the major players in the contemporary art scene.

Art Berlin Contemporary has recently changed from a curated show that was by invite only to a full-fledged art fair that brings in curators from the world’s leading museums such as the Tate and MoMA.

Berlin’s art week is a well-organized even that also includes performances, lectures, and social receptions for networking amongst gallerists, artists, curators, and collectors.

In addition to the obvious reasons that Berlin is a visual art lover’s paradise, visitors to Berlin will be exposed to all of the culture and diversity that influences art also influencing food, music, architecture, and the performing arts.

Have you visited Berlin, if so would love to hear your thoughts.

The post Why Berlin Is The Most Fascinating And Fun To Explore Art City In The World appeared first on The Artist.

What allows it to stand the test of time?

Is it the technique the artists use? Or perhaps it’s the colours? The theme?

No, it’s something infinitely more complex than that. Real art is alive. It is given power by the artists who see a different world and show us exactly what they perceive.

They expand our understanding even of simple concepts. But in order to do that, they need to be courageous.They mustn’t paint because they expect someone to like or appreciate their art. They mustn’t paint because someone told them to.

[quote_colored name=”” icon_quote=”no”]The mesmerizing charm of a great work of art doesn’t come from what is painted on the canvas. Rather, it comes from what was in the artist’s heart while he was painting.[/quote_colored]

Franz Krueger’s The Parade auf Opernplatzis a great example of that

In 1824, Nicolas I, the future tsar of Russia, commissioned a painting to commemorate a very special day in history. He made sure that a well-known painter was to illustrate his grand stature and show the whole world his greatness. The painting was supposed to be about him. Thus Franz Krueger was given the great honour to capture his future majesty’s prominence on the canvas.

Krueger was already a well-known painter in Berlin and specialized in military paintings and portraits, so this choice made a lot of sense. However, the artist had something a bit more different in mind.

The painting shows a sky, shrouded in clouds. There’s a great gathering of people on the square so it’s obvious that something important is happening. The buildings are expertly painted to remind us of where we are. Statues silently observe as events unveil. In the background, soldiers are standing in perfect formation, each one a copy of the other. Military officers are riding their horses around to signify that something is going on, all the while a large crowd has gathered on both sides of the ranks.

The artist has beautifully painted the crowd and infused it into a whole – it’s impossible to tell if there are aristocrats or ordinary people under the black hats. There is no distinction – just as the artist wanted it.

It’s continuum of people. Just people, without putting an emphasis on their stature, social status, political influence, profession or anything else! Just people. The disorderly crowd provides a perfect contrast to the structured ranks of the military. This breathes life into the painting.

If you carefully read the description again, and if you observe the painting with a bit more attention to detail, you will notice that something is missing. Or perhaps not missing, but definitely not getting the focus some parties intended.

Where is Nicolas I in all of this?

It is a known fact that he was the one who ordered the painting and it was supposed to commemorate a big moment for him. Yet he’s not the centre of this incredible work of true art. He’s just a part of the crowd. Just another person in a sea of normal people! His stature and grandiose nature are not shown in the painting. Krueger wanted to capture something special, something grand, and having a lot more substance than the life of an aristocrat, even if he was a future tsar. Instead of being a monument of the duke’s ego, the painting actually told the story of the people in that particular moment.

[quote_colored name=”” icon_quote=”no”]Scandalous for its time, the painting gathers the attention of the art community to this day. It doesn’t have one central image to it, but rather shows the gathering of the Berlin bourgeois, subtly hinting that no one person is more important than the others; that they’re a whole and they are what creates the spirit of the city.[/quote_colored]

Krueger shows us that true art can be created only through courage, strength of character, and determination.

The artist simply painted what he saw. How was this gutsy?

It actually took a lot of nerve to depict the Berlin bourgeois with the same level of detail as the future tsar of Russia. The duke, his influence, the force of the Russian military – they are all undermined by the presence of these ordinary people in the painting. The painting was commissioned in 1824, yet Krueger didn’t deliver what was asked of him.

Instead of designing a beautiful lie or pleasing the king by bringing him to center of attraction, the artist represented the even more beautiful truth. He tells a narrative, showing us that there is no one “hero” in the centre of this story, but that each and every one of these people matter. They are what make the city what it is. They are Berlin and without them, there is no city; there is no parade; there is no story.

Look at the painting and ask yourself how does it make you feel? The dim sky perfectly sets the serious mood of the piece. The huge, empty square, the big buildings contrasting with the huge crowd underlines the importance of each and every one of the people present in the painting, whether we’re talking about soldiers, officers, or civilians. It makes you feel that all of them are a part of something great, locked in the moment; but also that they are the moment itself, and that this great thing wouldn’t exist without them.

It transports you into the parade and makes you feel like you’re a part of it, too. The painting simply inspires you to contemplate something great.

[quote_colored name=”” icon_quote=”no”]Krueger showed us that great art comes from the heart.It doesn’t come from doing what you’re told. This is why the painting is so mesmerizing – because it doesn’t portray something we’ve seen a thousand times before. It doesn’t paint scenes of the fake heroism of aristocrats at the time. There is no idealization or painting with rose-tinted glasses. The artist simply shows us the truth and the critical realism of his painting is what resonates with us.[/quote_colored]

Krueger knew that there is a difference between creating something beautiful and creating something powerful.

Even though these two concepts don’t necessarily exclude one another, it’s entirely possible for beautiful art not to be powerful, while vice versa is almost out of the question. Power comes from creating something that’s exploring the boundaries and reaching new frontiers. It comes from doing something people think you shouldn’t be doing; the unpopular choices that are misunderstood by many; the experiments no one believes would be successful. Yet in most cases they are the ones that withstand the test of time.

[quote_colored name=”” icon_quote=”no”]A true artist has the courage to get outside of his comfort zone and this is when true masterpieces are born. Courage is possibly the most important aspect of painting something meaningful that leads to a greater understanding.[/quote_colored]

It breeds authenticity and is not there to please the audience, but to show them the way the artist sees the world. It’s there to make people ponder questions and think about their own reality. If you don’t do that, if your art doesn’t bring people to new heights, then what’s the point?

If you have the chance to visit Berlin—an amazing, living, breathing city which offers fantastic art—be sure to visit the Alte Nationalgalerie and see some of Berlin’s finest paintings.

The post The Virtue Of Courage. Great Art Comes From The Heart, Doesn’t Come From Doing What You’re Told appeared first on The Artist.

Museums also record a peoples’ and an artist’s experience within a timeframe and a social setting that place context on the work and help viewers to understand a piece and how it reflects the situations in which it was created.

There are many museums around the world which attracts visitors in millions.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Metropolitan Museum of Art is one of the most visited art museums in the world and the largest art museum in the United States. The museum is located in New York City. This art museum contains about two million works which are divided among several curatorial departments.

Read An Exhilarating Pursuit Through New York’s Art World, You Can’t-Miss These 7 Art Spots

Art Institute of Chicago

Art Institute of Chicago is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States which was founded in 1879. This museum is located in Chicago’s Grant Park. This museum hosts around 1.5 million guests annually and includes famous works of Seurat and Picasso.

The Musée d’Orsay

The Musée d’Orsay is a museum in Paris, France situated on the left bank of the Seine. From 1848 to 1914, the museum included French artworks only which includes paintings, photography, sculpture and drawings. It also contains the largest collection of impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings in the world.

Louvre

Louvre or the Louvre Museum is the world’s largest museum and a historic monument in Paris, France. This museum receives around 7.3 million visitors annually. Many historians believed that this museum was opened on 10 August 1793 with an exhibition of 537 paintings.

Museo del Prado

Museo del Prado also known as The Prado Museum was founded around 1819. Around then, it only contains paintings and sculpture but now it contains the world’s finest collections of European art. It is also considered one of the greatest and most visited art museums in the world.

Hermitage Museum

Hermitage Museum is also known as The State Hermitage Museum is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. This museum was founded around 1764 and is thus considered as the largest and oldest museum in the world. The museum celebrates its anniversary on 7 December every year.

The British Museum

The British Museum is located in the Bloomsbury area of London, United Kingdom and was founded around 1753. This museum contains around 8 million works and collections of works of physician and scientist Sir Hans Sloane.

Rijksmuseum

Rijksmuseum is a Dutch national museum located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South and is close to the Van Gogh Museum. History tells us that this museum was founded in The Hague in 1800 and moved to Amsterdam in 1808. It attracts around 2.2 million to 2.47 million visitors annually.

National Museum of Anthropology

National Museum of Anthropology is a national museum of Mexico that was founded around 1964. It is located between Paseo de la Reforma and Mahatma Gandhi Street within Chapultepec Park in Mexico City and is considered as the largest and most visited museum in Mexico.

National Air and Space Museum

National Air and Space Museum is a museum in Washington, D.C which was founded around 1946. As the name suggests, this museum exhibits one of the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It attracted around 6.7 million visitors annually.

The Van Gogh Museum

The Van Gogh Museum is an art museum which is dedicated to the works of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries in Amsterdam, Netherlands. This museum was established around on 2 June 1973. It attracted around 1.9 million visitors annually.

Acropolis Museum

Acropolis Museum is an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. This museum was established around 20 June 2009 and is located in Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, Athens, Greece.

Vasa Museum

Vasa Museum is a maritime museum that was founded around 1990. It is located in Galärvarvsvägen 14, Djurgården, Sweden. It hosts around 1.2 million visitors annually. This museum contains 17th century ship that has ever been salvaged and the 64-gun warship Vasa.

The National WWII Museum

The National WWII Museum is also known as D-Day Museum is a military history museum established in 2000. This museum is all about the contribution made by the United States to Allied victory in World War II. It is located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art also widely known as MOMA is an art museum that was founded around 1929. It is located in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It is known for its collections of modernist art and includes the works of sculpture, drawing, painting, illustrated books, photography, prints.

10 Must-See Contemporary Art Museums with Powerful Artworks

At first glance, MOMA is just another museum. But if you go deeper, MOMA is a very sophisticated institution representing many of the most challenging and creative art of our times. An art laboratory, situated in the heart of Manhattan, that truly represents the aesthetic and intellectual interests across various mediums such as painting, film, sculpture, photography, media, architecture and design, prints and illustrated books, drawings, etc.

Gold Museum

Gold Museum is also known as The Museum of Gold is a museum founded in 1939. It is located in Carrera 6 # 15-82(Parque Santander) Bogotá, Colombia. This museum hosts around 500,000 tourists per year. It contains the collections of pre-Columbian gold and other metal alloys.

Pergamon Museum

Pergamon Museum is an art museum that was founded in 1910 and the building was designed by Alfred Messel and Ludwig Hoffmann. It is located in the Museum Island in Berlin, Germany. It hosts around 5.1 million visitors every year and considered as one of the largest in the country.

National Gallery

National Gallery is an art museum that was founded in 1824. This museum contains a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. It is located on the Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London. It attracts around 6 million visitors every year.

The Uffizi Gallery

The Uffizi Gallery is a prominent art museum established in 1581. It is located near Piazza Della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence, Tuscany, Italy. One of the largest and best-known museums in the world and holds 2.02 million visitors with a collection of priceless artworks.

Victoria and Albert Museum

Victoria and Albert Museum is the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design which was founded in 1852. It contains around 4.5 miilion objects and receives around 4 million visitors annually. It is located in Cromwell Road, London, SW7, United Kingdom

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national museum and art gallery of New Zealand which was founded in 1992. It is widely known as Te Papa and Our Place; “Te Papa Tongarewa which means the place of treasures of this land. It attracts around 1 million visitors every year.

Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Institution is a group of museums and research centers which was established on August 10, 1846. It attracts thirty million annual visitors and all of them without any charge. This institution consists of more than 200 institutions and museums in 45 states.

National Gallery of Art

National Gallery of Art is a national art museum in Washington, D.C and was established around 1937 for the American people. This museum is located on the National Mall between 3rd and 7th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW. It hosts around 4.2 million visitors every year.

Yad Vashem

Yad Vashem is Israel’s official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, honoring Jews. It was established in 1953 and located on the western slope of Mount Herzl. This memorial contains memorial sites such as the Children’s Memorial and the Hall of Remembrance, the Museum of Holocaust Art and sculptures.

Winter Palace

Winter Palace is located between the Palace Embankment and the Palace Square. This place was the official residence of the Russian monarchs around 1732 to 1917. This place functions both as a Museum and as a Palace.

Closing Thoughts on Best Art Museums in the World

The very first art museum, the Louvre in Paris, started a movement to educate the public about art and through art. The success of the world’s first museums has led to the establishment of art museums and galleries in nearly every town and city in the world.

Now if you’re a fan of art festivals and fairs, read 10 must-visit art festivals and fairs around the world. From small community art exhibitions to Biennale events, it gathers all players in the art industry to get involved and introduce their agendas to the ever-loyal art aficionados.

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Good things aren’t always beautiful. Beautiful things aren’t always good. Ugly can be made beautiful. Beautiful can be revealed as ugly. Street Art is one such super cool art where it’s meanings and messages are much deeper and thought-bending

Check out art infographics on five reasons why street art is super cool

Most of the top street Art and Graffiti Has A Remarkable Attitude, Satire and Creativity . A lot of street art has an obvious, or sometimes very subtle, anti-establishment hint in it. The very mediums it uses, owned by states or corporations, are protected by law from the artist but are used without regard or in spite of it. That illegality is often a part of the message.

For millennia, people have been desecrating public buildings and spaces with their written or drawn opinions of authority figures, celebrities, and even their own friends and lovers. Archaeologists have found Roman inscriptions that mirror what’s written on the wall in our modern bathrooms.

Street art’s former graffiti reputation as destructive vandalism has mostly disappeared. As the art form gains the notice of the art world elite, and more importantly, the masses, there is hope of success for the artist in his life and even the immediate future. Street Art plays a major role in adding soul and personality to its existence. Berlin is one such fascinating city for street art, where large-scale, puzzle-like street art works can be seen all around the city.

Street art has proven itself to be a true expressive art form. It is not an inferior form of political outcry nor is it the indifferent rebellion of a disaffected youth. Street art thinks, feels, and evokes thought and emotions in the people that view it with an open mind.

Street art is executed with purpose, design with technique and produced with intention. Inquisitive urban explorers are often the first to find new street art. So, next time if you are around Rio, Berline, Prague or New York, find some time to explore the magic of street art.

The post Infographics: Why Street Art Graffiti Is Super Powerful? appeared first on The Artist.