The Gemäldegalerie: Berlin's Unique Art Collection

The Gemäldegalerie boasts one of the world's most important collections of European paintings from the 13th to the 18th century. After the collection was founded in 1830, it was systematically built up and now includes masterpieces by artists from every age of art history and includes masterpieces from such artists as Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach, Hans Holbein, Rogier van der Weyden, Jan van Eyck, Raphael, Botticelli, Titian, Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, David Teniers the Younger, Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Johannes Vermeer, Thomas Gainsborough, Joshua Reynolds and Antonio Viviani.

Unlike most major national European collections, with the exception of the National Gallery in London, the Gemäldegalerie collection is not essentially formed around the former dynastic royal collection, but created by a process of acquisition by the Prussian government beginning in 1815. From the first the museum was intended to reflect the full range of European art, giving a different emphasis from that of older royal collections, such as the royal collection of Saxony, now mostly in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden.

'The Merchant Georg Gisze' by Hans Holbein the Younger c.1532

'Portrait of a Young Lady' by Petrus Christus c.1470

'Portrait of a Young Woman with a White Headdress' by Rogier van Der Weyden c. 1440

Detail of 'Venus with Cupid the Honey Thief' by Lucas Cranach the Elder c. 1537

'Still Life with Fruit and Lobster' by Jan Davidsz de Helm c. 1848

'Still Life of Musical Instruments' by Pieter de Ring c.1650
and refers to the transitoriness of earthly life

'Woman with Pearl Necklace' by Jan Vermeer c. 1632

'Self Portrait with a Velvet Beret and Coat with Fur Collar' by Rembrandt c. 1634

Ceiling Painting in the Gemaldegalerie by Sebastinino Ricci c. 1659

'Mary with the Christ Child and John the Baptist' by Raffael c. 1505

'Don Gabriel de la Cueva, Duke of Albuquerque' by Gianbattista Moroni c. 1560

'Profile Portrait of a Young Woman' by Sandra Botticelli c. 1475

'Profile Portrait of a Young Woman' by Piero del Pollaiuolo c. 1441

is one of the most important women's portraits of the Italian early Renaissance

www.smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/gemaeldegalerie

India Club: Authentic Indian Cuisine in Berlin

 

Authentic North Indian cuisine in the heart of Berlin inspired by the homeland of Head Chef, Manish Bahukhandi, the culinary maestro behind India Club. His signature style blends traditional flavours with a contemporary approach with quality and precision. At the core of many dishes are finely balanced masalas, roasted and freshly ground in-house. The menu features a variety of plant-based options as well as premium fish and meat dishes, much of it sourced from certified organic farms, including the restaurant's own Gut Vorder Bollhagen estate, run by the entrepreneurial family Jadtfeld near Heiligendamm. Prepared in a real tandoori oven made of clay, these are the silent stars at India Club.

The lush interior of India Club

Glass of Laurent-Perrier La Cuvée Brut Champagne

Pappadam

Trio of sauces for the pappadam: Spicy Tamarind, Creamy Mint & Mango Chutney

Pindi Chole Kulcha made with Chef Manish Bahukhandi‘s Secret Recipe

Chef Manish Bahukhandi‘s Kulcha Bread

Kingfisher Lager

Chicken Tikka Highway

Prawn Seafood Goan Curry with Coconut Milk, Clove and Tamarind

India Club Black Dal with Beluga Lentil and Fenugreek Leaf

Aged Basmati Rice

Garlic Butter Naan

Jasmine Tea

Indian head chef, Manish Bahukhandi

www.india-club-berlin.com

Museum Island in Berlin: Sublime Art & Architecture

 

A unique ensemble of buildings in the heart of Berlin, Museum Island is one of the most outstanding museum complexes in Europe. Six thousand years of culture and history are illustrated on Museum Island, a panorama stretching from the Ancient Egyptians and the civilizations of the ancient Near East to Greek and Roman Antiquity and the Christian and Islamic art of the Middle Ages to European art of the 19th Century. Awarded UNESCO World Heritage status in 1999, millions of visitors come to see the five museums every year. Not only the collections themselves are worth seeing, the ensemble of historic buildings on Museum Island is among the most beautiful architecture that Berlin has to offer.

The Altes Museum, or Old Museum, offers an insight into the worlds of Etruscan, Greek and Roman art. Built during the empire period, the Bode Museum with its striking cupola houses the Sculpture Collection including works from all over Europe dating from the early Middle Ages to Classicism. Byzantine art of the 3rd to 19th Centuries is also featured, in addition to a selection of some of the most valuable coins and medals from Antiquity to the 20th-Century in the collection displayed in the Münzkabinett. The Old National Gallery, rising above the island like an ancient Greek temple, was opened in 1876 to house the contemporary art of the time and today still has painting and sculpture from the 19th Century, with highlights being rooms with the Impressionists and Caspar David Friedrich. 

In 1997, David Chipperfield won the international competition for the rebuilding of the Neues Museum, which houses the Egyptian museum and papyrus collection with its famous bust of Queen Nefertiti and other works of art from the time of the king Akhenaten

Family group of Ptah-mai, chief of the Web-priests of Ptah,

from the Ramses II dynasty c 1279 BC

Seated statue of Mentuemhat, governor of Thebes c.610 BC

The world famous Bust of Nefertiti is a 3,300-year-old limestone and plaster sculpture of the 

ancient Egyptian queen, was discovered in 1912

Nefertiti is the most popular item in the museum, but can only be photographed

from outside the atrium where she's featured

Papyrus of King Khufu c.1640 BC

View through the sumptuous galleries of the Neues Museum

Long view towards Nefertiti Atrium as seen through room featuring Roman busts

Bronze of 'Xanten Youth' c.1st century BC was discovered in 1858 by fishermen 

not far from Xanten

Intricate floor tile in the museum changes in each room

Greek marriage contract on papyrus c. 310 BC

Time for a cappuccino in the Allegretto Cafè of the Neues Museum

The Neues Museum interior courtyard 

Bust of Roman Lady of the Julian-Claudian era from the 

Heinrich Schliemanns Collection of Trojan antiquities, who was among the great 

archaelogists of the 19th-century

Boat-shaped Saucier from 27 BC, looks rather modern 

Head of statue of King Amenhotep III c. 1360 BC

Head of statuette of Queen Tiy with double feather crown c. 1355 BC

Portrait heads of the royal couple Nefertiti and Ashenaten c. 1350 BC

Figure of a girl holding a small cat c. 1380 BC

Head of statue of King Amasis c. 550 BC

Painting from a tomb of the representation of the deified 

Pharaoh Amenhotep I c. 1186 BC

Praying statue of King Amenemhet III c. 1840 BC from Memphis

The massive, multi-phase overhaul of the Pergamon Museum on Museum Island,

due to open in 2027, featured the Pergamon Altar with the Giant Frieze, the Market Gate from late Roman Miletus and the Processional Way and Ishtar Gate of Babylon

The Bode Museum on Museum Island

 Baroque Equestrian Statue of Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg 

sits in the atrium of the Bode

The Barberini Faun by Vincenzo Pacetti  c.1813,

is a famous Hellenistic marble statue of a sleeping, drunken satyr

San Jeronimo by Diego de Siloé 1490 AD

The spectacular late Baroque and early Rococo Mirror Cabinet from Merseburg Castle,

from 1712-1715

www.smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/museumsinsel-berlin/home