Nowhere else can art fans get as close to the German Expressionist August Macke (1887-1914) as in his former home and studio, which is now a multimedia biographical museum. The co-founder of the "Blauer Reiter" group of artists lived and painted in the three-storey building, which was built in 1878 in the late classicist style, from 1911 to 1914. Here, the exceptional talent received personalities from the Rhenish and national art scene such as Robert Delaunay, Guillaume Apollinaire, Franz Marc, Gabriele Münter and Max Ernst.
Guests who now wander through the 14 intimate rooms of the building and explore the museum's permanent exhibition can discover what moved the artist in the midst of a time characterized by upheaval with over 100 original works, numerous memorabilia, furniture and documents.
You will learn more about his artistic development, his commitment to art politics and his loving relationship with his family, with whom he lived in Bonn's city center from 1911 until his early death at the age of 27. He died shortly after the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 at the front in Perthes-lès-Hurles in Champagne.
Like hardly any other artist of his time, August Macke succeeded in capturing the earthly paradise in his color-intensive, light-flooded paintings before it was shattered with the outbreak of the First World War.
Studio and museum extension
Visitors are introduced to the painter's former studio, which is located on the top floor and where August Macke and Franz Marc painted the joint mural "Paradise". Like Macke at the beginning of the 20th century, they look through the large windows at the nearby St. Mary's Church or Victoria Bridge. The painter used these locations as motifs for some of his works.
After a tour of the house, day-trippers can explore the modern extension to the museum, which was designed by Bonn architect Karl-Heinz Schommer and opened in 2017. It hosts changing special exhibitions dedicated to Expressionism, Classical Modernism and Macke's artist friendships.
Museum-goers should also take a trip to the nearby surroundings. In the city center of Bonn, one sight follows the next. In addition to Bonn Minster and the Old Town Hall, there is also the LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn and the Beethoven House. A detour to the idyllic Rhine riverside promenade and the Electoral Palace with its courtyard garden, which has been home to the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität since 1818, complete a cultural tour of the former German capital.
