TheSchnütgen Museum (Museum Schnütgen in German) inCologne is devoted to Christian religious art, mainlymedieval, but some parts of the collection, such as itstextiles and prints, extend fromantiquity to the modern period. In 1906, the collection of Alexander Schnütgen was donated to the city, and the collection has continued to expand, so that until the opening of a new building in 2010, only about 10% of its 13,000 items could be displayed. Now some 2,000 objects are on display in 1900 sq. metres of gallery space, with an additional 1300 sq. metres for special exhibitions.[1] Schnütgen (1843–1918) was a Catholic priest and theologian;[2] according to the museum website "Up to now people tell stories about his zealous and sometimes crafty collection tactics".[3]
Since 1956, the museum has occupied the largeRomanesque church ofSt. Cäcilien, founded in 881 for noble canonesses, with the present building dating from 1130–60, with murals from about 1300. An annex built by architectKarl Band was added in the 1950s, and new buildings (part of theKulturquartier, “Culture quarter“) opened in 2010. Highlights of the collection include a Romanesquetympanum from St Cecilia's itself, several large woodencrucifixes, including the 11th centuryCross of St George's, as well as a large collection of early bronze ones, including the only other work generally attributed toRainer of Huy apart from hisLiège baptismal font.[4] The museum has a late Carolingianevangeliary of 860–880, and a single leaf from the EnglishSt Albans Psalter.[5] The "Comb of St Heribert" is a 9th-centuryivoryliturgical comb, and the "Harrach Diptych" aCarolingian ivory of about 810 (on loan from the Ludwig collection).[6] Ivories, stained glass, textiles includingvestments, metalwork and paintings are all well represented.[7]
Alexander Schnütgen had organised influential exhibitions of his collection while it was still private, and from the 1970s the museum (using extra exhibition spaces) organized a series of landmark exhibitions of medieval art:
The enormous catalogues for these exhibitions, some running to three volumes, remain important works of reference. Catalogues of the permanent collection of the museum are being published in several volumes.[8] A touring exhibition in America of objects from the museum in 2000 also produced a catalogue in English.
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