August-Macke-Haus

The August-Macke-Haus is a museum in Bonn, Germany, dedicated to the Expressionist painter August Macke. Opened in 1991, it occupies the artist's former residence in the Nordstadt district, where he lived from 1911 until his death in 1914. The institution preserves Macke's only studio, presents reconstructed domestic interiors, and hosts temporary exhibitions focused on Expressionism and Rhenish art. It also maintains a basic archive of Rhenish Expressionism and a reference library, serving as the principal center for research into Macke's brief but intensely productive career.

August Macke married Elisabeth Gerhardt on October 5, 1909, and after living at Tegernsee, the couple moved to Bonn. In February 1911, Macke, his wife, and their son Walter moved into the three-storey house at Bornheimer Strasse 88 (now 96), which had been purchased in 1884 by Macke's father-in-law, entrepreneur Carl Heinrich Gerhardt, as a company archive. During the winter of 1910-11, the attic was converted into a light-filled studio according to plans by Bonn architect Hermann Schmitt. Macke completed more than 400 paintings there, his most productive period, before being killed in action in France in September 1914 at age 27. Elisabeth married Lothar Erdmann in 1916 and remained in the house until 1925; after Erdmann's death in Sachsenhausen concentration camp in 1939, she returned in 1948 and lived in the studio until 1975. A bronze plaque commemorating Macke was installed in 1972 at the initiative of students Gerhard Pfafferott and Arn Strohmeyer. When a Berlin building contractor acquired the unlisted house and planned to convert it into a restaurant, Margarethe Jochimsen, chairwoman of the Bonner Kunstverein, launched a citizens' initiative to secure heritage protection. The association "August Macke Haus" was founded in 1989, and that same year the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and sponsor Herbert Hillebrand acquired the property for proper renovation. The house was placed under monument protection in 1991, the studio was restored to its original condition, and the museum officially opened on September 26, 1991, with Johannes Rau, then Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, in attendance. Jochimsen served as founding director. The "August Macke Haus der Sparkasse Bonn Foundation" was established in 1994 as financial sponsor. Klara Drenker-Nagel succeeded Jochimsen in 2002 as the first full-time director, serving until October 2024. The neighboring property was acquired in 2004, and after comprehensive renovation of the historic house in 2010-2011, a modern extension designed by Bonn architect Karl-Heinz Schommer was constructed from 2015 to 2017, funded by federal and state governments, the North Rhine-Westphalia Foundation, the Landschaftsverband Rheinland, private donors, and former Vice Chancellor Guido Westerwelle.

The museum's holdings center on the reconstructed studio and domestic interiors of August Macke, supplemented by furniture from his Tegernsee period. The institution does not primarily function as a repository of Macke's paintings but rather as a site-specific memorial and research center. Its programming emphasizes temporary exhibitions devoted to Expressionism, Rhenish Expressionism, and regional painting traditions. A basic archive of Rhenish Expressionism and a reference library support scholarly work on Macke and his artistic milieu. Over eighty special exhibitions on Macke and his environment had been mounted by the time of the 2017 expansion.

The most significant object on display is the full-scale copy of the mural Paradise, which Macke painted with Franz Marc in 1912 on the studio wall. The original, measuring approximately 4 by 2 meters, was removed in 1980 and is now held by the LWL-Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte in Münster. The copy installed in the museum reproduces the dimensions and appearance of the original work. Historical furniture, including pieces from Macke's Tegernsee period, furnishes the reconstructed interiors.

The museum consists of two parts: the historic three-storey residence at Bornheimer Strasse 96 and a modern exhibition building attached to it. The original house was built in 1877-1878 and acquired by Carl Heinrich Gerhardt in 1884. Architect Hermann Schmitt's 1910-11 studio conversion featured raising the roof on the garden side to gable height, installing a mansard roof with a hipped dormer, and adding large side windows and a skylight to achieve the lighting conditions Macke required. The building is protected as a Baudenkmal (heritage monument). The 2015-2017 extension by Karl-Heinz Schommer provides contemporary exhibition space while preserving the historic fabric.

The August-Macke-Haus is located in Bonn's Nordstadt district. It is operated by the Museum August Macke Haus gGmbH, whose shareholders are the Verein August Macke Haus e.V. and the Stiftung August Macke Haus der Sparkasse Bonn. The museum is open to the public and presents both the permanent studio installation and temporary exhibitions. Information in German and English is available through the official website at www.august-macke-haus.de.