The Prinzhorn Collection Psychiatric Clinic Art with International Standing

Home , Hans Prinzhorn

Originalveröffentlichung in: Meusburger, Peter (Hrsg.): Wissenschaftsatlas of Heidelberg University : spatio-temporal relations of academic knowledge production, Knittlingen 2012, S. 244-245

Thomas Rdske

0The Prinzhorn Collection Dating back to a post World War I pro- ject led by the art historian and psychiatrist Hans Prinzhorn (1886-1933), thefa- mous Prinzhorn Collection is based on over 5,000 works created by psychiatric clinic inmates in German speaking countries between 1850 and 1930. Since the 1980's, the fund has been enriched by approximately 12,000 new works by "psychiatrically experienced people" from 1900 to the present. In 2001, the Collection was moved to its own museum, in a converted late 19th century lecture hall building (► image).

The Prinzhorn Collection in the general psychiatric department of the University Clinic in Heidelberg is world The Prinzhorn Collection Museum in Heidelberg famous for its fund of institutional art. It contains over 5000 sketches, paint- ings, sculptures, and textile works origi- bition “Entartete Kunst ” (“Degenerate exhibitions were to be seen in US cities nating from the period, between 1850 Art”), which was on display in several and in 1996/97 in Europe. and 1930 from a variety of psychiatric German towns between 1938 and 1941. institutions, clinics, and sanatoriums, After the war, interest in the collec- The collection today mainly in German speaking countries. tion did not awaken again until 1963 It was not until 2001 that the collec- The majority were sent to Heidelberg in when the Swiss exhibition organiser tion’s own museum finally opened in a the early 1920s in response to an appeal and Museum Director Harald Szeemann converted 19th century lecture building by the art historian and physician Hans (1933-2005) presented 250 works on Hans Prinzhorn (1886-1933) (► image). The author was made direc- Prinzhorn. loan from Heidelberg in the Kunsthalle tor of the museum in 2002. Since then Bern. In 1966, the psychiatrist Maria the situation has changed radically. Hist ory of the Prinzhorn Collection Rave-Schwank took over the collection Two to three temporary exhibitions ad- In 1919, the then head of the psychiat- and organised further small exhibitions. dressing topics from the field of “psy- ric department, Karl Wilmanns (1873- In 1973, the post of curator for the col- chological crisis and art” are shown 1945), appointed Hans Prinzhorn lection was created for the physician each year. The exhibits mostly come assistant doctor in Heidelberg. It was Inge Jarchov, later Jadi. Under her man- from the historical Prinzhorn Collec- his task to expand the small teaching agement and with the aid of the tion. The exhibitions are accompanied collection that had been started be- Volkswagen Foundation the works of by meetings, lectures, readings, con- tween 1890 and 1903 by Emil Kraepelin art were preserved and scientifically certs, and performances. Requests from (1856-1926), and to evaluate it in a sci- documented. In 1980, the first large other museums and exhibition institu- entific study. Prinzhorn’s book Artistry travelling exhibition took place, return- tions are now accommodated more of the Mentally 111 was published in ing the collection to fame in Germany. than in the past. Thus, works from the 1922. The exceptionally elaborately In 1984/85 and 2000, further travelling collection can be seen abroad, either in produced and richly illustrated volume aroused curiosity amongst many art lov- ers for the often astoundingly original works of art by individuals who had been marginalised as “insane ”, wh’ich until then had barely been noticed. Re- garded as a classic, this pioneering work has been reprinted many times. After Prinzhorn’s departure in 1922, the senior physician Hans Gruhle took over the collection. He accepted further donations and organised exhihitions at home and abroad. Between 1933 and 1945, some of the Heidelberg works were only on view once as “reference material ” as part of the travelling exhi-

Subjective view of a psychiatric clinic; Franz Alternative Worldview: the former businessman Heinrich Grebing's Kleber, site plan of the Karthaus Prull psychiat- (1879-1940) depiction of his imaginary commercial empire ric clinic in Regensburg, circa 1880-1896

244 Wissenschaftsatlas ofHeidelberg University exhibitions dedicated to the Heidelberg grown by more than 10,000 works, history research into the collection, Outlook collection, or as works on loan to the- mainly from the years 1960 to 2000. mostly in the form of catalogues accom- The developments in recent years have matic exhibitions where they are shown Since then the collection has been ex- panying exhibitions. In addition, inter- made the need for an extension more alongside other exhibits. The map O panding by up to 100 works per year. est from external researchers from dif- pressing. Alongside storage areas, this clearly shows that in recent years the On the one hand the collection needs ferent fields has increased. In recent will provide space for a permanent ex- museum has, in this way, been able to to keep up with modern developments years, theses, examination papers, and hibition of classics, a graphics room build on its international reputation. to prevent it becoming stuck in history. other publications have been written in where visitors will be able to request to On the other hand there will be an in- art and cultural history, medicine, psy- view works, a specialist library and Expansion of the collection creased focus on ensuring that art from chology, German studies, and other dis- bookshop on the subject of “outsider Since 1980, the collection has been the decades between 1930 and 1960 is ciplines on the subject of the Prinzhorn art”. This will allow the Prinzhorn Col- added to, often in the form of gifts, represented. collection. Artists, writers, and com- lection to meet the increasing require- sometimes in the form of permanent Since the opening of the museum, posers explore works or groups of works ments of an exhibition centre and re- loans, and rarely in the form of pur- there have also been more publications from the collection and allow them- search establishment in the future> chases. By 2001 the collection had with the latest findings from cultural selves to be inspired.

o Worldwide Prinzhorn Collection exhibition venues 1921 -2011

pLake Onega 2003 Schls^yig O' Lake\ 1980 >aimaa O v 1981 tLadoga Lake 1980 Paijanne Beloye 1990 2007 2000 Hamburg 2003 2004 Lmalaren' Lake llmen 2008/09 Jtavanger Lake 1996 ] IVanern 'Peipus K B&lin 1981 2010 Osnabrim (J Hannover ) 2002 1992 Skagerrak ° cr J 2003 2008 Vattern onno /nn 2005^ Bochum — 1999 Diissel- v Herford ■■ 2006/07 i dorf/ 'O 1986 (J Kassel Leipzig 2011 2006 Hemer (X)Dresden O Newcastle 2007/08 ( Mem©/ 2009 O Erfurt | 2006 Marburg I 7 2007 Dublin 2006 ;Weimaf Manchgster Chemnitz 2008 193Qf ’ Darmstac 2010/1W 2003/04 ‘Fr^nRfuft a.M. 2005/06 1986 Ludwigshafen 2006 2006/07 19321 Speyer-5 2009 ’ 2007 Mannheim London— 2007 O 1 Mechel^ Waldenburg I3/94 2009 \*E Bexhill-on-Sea • (see s * jnburg'-lBotteh- \ ^ enlarged 2009 1980 u Mlinchen Charleroi fiap section) Praha 1986 'MO 1986 tlll/90 Kaufbeuren 1996 1996 2002 2005-07 ^alzburg ab 2001 2002/03 2006 2006 Stuttgart permanent exhibition 2009 2006/07 Admont Balaton 2007 Heidelberg Scale 1 : 12 500 000

Gen^ve Caspi an Sea Donau

Ligurian 1993 2001 i Lake Urmia 2006 Barcelona Madrid (J)

2011 Thessaloniki (Saloniki)(

Tyrrhenian Sea

Number of exhibitions with exhibits from the Prinzhorn collection

year of exhibition 1980 1998/99 (list corresponds to the Katonah 1993 order of segments)

8■NewYork

2004 Washington Time period in which the exhibition took place exclusive exhibition loan to special exhibition

245 The Prinzhom Collection - Psychiatric Clinic Art with Intemational Standing