Otto-Dix-Haus

The Otto-Dix-Haus is a museum in Gera, Germany, dedicated to the life and work of the German painter Otto Dix. Located at Mohrenplatz 4 in the Untermhaus district, it occupies the actual half-timbered house where Dix was born on December 2, 1891. The building was converted into an art museum in 1991 to mark the centenary of his birth, and it now functions as part of the Kunstsammlung Gera, alongside the Orangerie. The museum is significant both as a preserved birthplace of a major 20th-century artist and as a cultural institution that maintains a substantial collection of his works.

The museum's origins trace to preparations for the 100th birthday of Otto Dix. The half-timbered building, constructed in the 18th century and believed to date from 1728, had its rear section converted for residential use in 1946. Between 1988 and 1991, the structure was extensively renovated and adapted for museum purposes, with a new extension added on the west side to serve as an access and functional wing. The museum opened in 1991 as part of the Kunstsammlung Gera. A significant disruption occurred on June 3, 2013, when flooding of the White Elster River damaged the ground floor. This necessitated a closure beginning January 4, 2016, during which some exhibits were displayed in an interim exhibition at the city museum. The Otto-Dix-Haus reopened on December 2, 2016, Dix's 125th birthday, with the special exhibition "Otto Dix: Drawing Art with Silver Pen."

The permanent exhibition spans two floors and evokes the atmosphere of a simple working-class house from the early 20th century. The museum holds approximately 400 drawings and oil paintings, along with printed graphics from its own collection. The holdings are supplemented by permanent loans from the Otto Dix Foundation in Vaduz and the Niescher Collection. A notable archival component comprises 48 postcards Dix sent during his World War I service. The collection of works on paper is sufficiently extensive that it is shown in rotating special exhibitions. Beyond Dix's own work, the museum regularly hosts changing exhibitions by other artists, including photographic exhibitions, for which a separate exhibition hall is available.

The museum displays paintings from several phases of Dix's career. Specific works mentioned in the collection include Selbstbildnis als Raucher (Self-Portrait as Smoker, 1913), Meine Freundin Elis (My Friend Elis, 1919), Doppelbildnis Otto Dix/Kurt Günther (Double Portrait Otto Dix/Kurt Günther, 1920), Der Heilige Christophorus IV (Saint Christopher IV, 1939), and Bildnis des Malers Hans Theo Richter mit Frau Gisela (Portrait of the Painter Hans Theo Richter with Wife Gisela, 1933). The rooms where Dix actually lived contain his work, creating a direct connection between the artist's biography and the displayed objects. The study room and graphics collection can be visited by prior arrangement.

The Otto-Dix-Haus stands in Gera-Untermhaus beside the Marienkirche at Mohrenplatz 4, near the Hofwiesenpark, the site of the 2007 Bundesgartenschau (federal horticultural show), and Schloss Osterstein. The building is a listed historic monument (denkmalgeschützter Fachwerkbau), a half-timbered structure from the 18th century. The 1988-1991 conversion preserved this character while adding modern museum functionality through the west-side extension. The interior design evokes the period around 1900, with period furniture complementing the exhibition spaces.

The Otto-Dix-Haus is publicly accessible as part of the Kunstsammlung Gera, with exhibitions on two floors. Visitors can view the permanent collection of Dix's works, the rooms where he lived, and changing exhibitions by other artists. The museum previously offered educational programs for children and youth groups, with trained museum educators and artists leading workshops where participants created their own works using the exhibitions as technical and motivational reference; these programs were active at least through 2007. The study room and graphics collection are accessible by prior arrangement. The museum maintains an official website through the city's museum network.