Kunsthalle Mannheim Acquires Anselm Kiefer Collection

The Kunsthalle Mannheim has announced on Wednesday that it has secured 38 works by Anselm Kiefer on a long-term loan, Art Magazin has reported.

The works by the internationally acclaimed painter and sculptor are to be loaned to the museum by the German collector Hans Grothe for a ten-year period with an option for the agreement to be extended for a further ten years. Grothe, a construction magnate from the industrial German city of Duisburg, is said to be in possession of the largest, most extensive collection of Kiefer’s works.

The works loaned to the museum encompass Kiefer’s monumental paintings and sculptures including the large-scale sculpture Volkszählung (Leviathan) and the 14-part The Secret Life of Plants for Robert Fludd. Grothe estimates the commercial value of the artworks at over €30 million. Ulrike Lorenz, director of the Kunsthalle Mannheim, described the loan to Mannheimer Morgen as a “great enrichment” to the museum’s collection.

But visitors will have to be patient. The artworks will go on display in 2017 when the €70 million redevelopment of the museum is complete. The Kiefer collection will be shown in a specially constructed gallery with 6,50m walls to house the giant artworks. The museum is yet to announce when the first Kiefer show will take place.