Schloss Bellevue: Steinmeier decorated with DDR art

In the entrance gallery of Schloss Bellevue, through which practically all visitors come, five large-format pictures of GDR artists can now be seen; Works by Hartwig Ebersbach, Günter Firit, Angela Hampel, Harald Metzkes and Trak Wendisch. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had her paintings hung up. In this way he wants to recall the peaceful revolution "which, 30 years ago, caused the first flight of refugees to make a first quake", which had been driven by the opposition movements and had reached a "world historical high point" with the opening of the Berlin Wall.

The pictures hung there "as a bow to those who in the year 1989 have the courage to go to the streets," Steinmeier said. With them he bowed to all other artists in the GDR, who risked something and instead of the decreed, partisan view of the world their own conscience followed.

Bernd of Jutrczenka / DPA

Steinmeier and the painting "Januskopf" (1977) by Harald Metzkes

The loans from Berlin, Dresden and Halle (Saale) were created in the period after the expatriation of the dissident songwriter Wolf Biermann in 1976 until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. In Bellevue, the pictures are to hang until the 30th anniversary of reunification in October next year. Visitors to the Bürgerfest in Schloss Bellevue this Saturday can also see them.

Read a text about the exhibition of GDR art in the Düsseldorf Kunstpalast museum, whose patron is also the Federal President.