An overview of the collection
Humboldt-Universität possesses a rich collection of valuable art treasures. The collection ranges from monuments, sculptures, installations, paintings, prints and tapestries dating from the 19th to the 21st century to university insignia, medals, gifts to guests and commemorative plaques. The focus of the collection is on works of art connected to the university, such as portrait busts and paintings of scholars and university lecturers who worked at the University of Berlin. There are also numerous artistic depictions of the university buildings and Berlin’s historic architecture. Of particular value are the university’s insignia – the chains of office of the rectors from 1818 and 1860 respectively, and of the deans, as well as the two rectorial sceptres. Another collection from the GDR era comprises works by artists who were active at Humboldt-Universität.
Responsibilities and Use
The Custody is responsible for the proper care, preservation, academic research and public presentation of the university’s art collection. Only a portion of the artworks is permanently on public display on the university grounds or within its buildings. Many objects, however, are in circulation – used to decorate office spaces or stored in the repository. In addition to conservation, the artworks are the subject of academic research and are displayed as part of smaller exhibitions and interventions. In teaching modules, students work alongside staff to deepen their understanding of the works; new ways of contextualising them can be explored, and digital presentations of selected items can be developed.
Monuments & Sculptures
From the monuments to scholars at the main building, through sites commemorating persecution and university events, to contemporary art installations on the Campus North and in Adlershof, the monuments and sculptures at Humboldt-Universität connect historical testimonies with current artistic themes. At the same time, they open up diverse perspectives on memory, research and the present day – and invite visitors to experience the campus as a journey through art and academia.
Busts
Just under 60 marble busts were on display in the main building until the renovation of the Senate Hall (Aula) in 1929, many of them created by members of the Berlin School of Sculpture. Even later, busts were commissioned, purchased or acquired through donations, and copies were produced. The materials used have expanded from an initial restriction to marble and plaster to include bronze and terracotta. Women, who are generally under-represented in the history of science, are also only sporadically represented in the bust collection. The majority of the scholars’ busts are now on display in the individual institutes or within the university buildings; a small number are held in the Custody's magazine. The collection of scholars’ busts is complemented by a smaller collection of portrait reliefs and medallions.
Paintings & Prints
The collection of paintings and prints is characterised by groups of portraits of scholars, as well as a series of portraits of rectors begun during the GDR era (later continued with portraits of presidents of the university), alongside works by artists who taught at the university. This group of works also features views of Berlin from various centuries. The works entered the Custody’s collection through donations, purchases and commissions, and the collection is continually expanded with individual works. The materials and techniques are particularly diverse, including oil painting, watercolour, copperplate engraving, lithography, screen printing and collage.
Medals & Insignia
Humboldt-Universität has a collection of medals consisting mainly of gifts from other universities around the world, presented to mark anniversaries or to honour individual academics. The collection of around 120 medals includes pieces from the 19th to the 21st centuries in bronze, silver, gold and Meissen porcelain.
Among Humboldt-Universität’s insignia are the rectors’ chains from 1817, bearing the effigy of the university’s founder, King Friedrich Wilhelm III, and from 1960, featuring a double portrait of Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt. The two university sceptres from the 14th century were presumably made for the University of Prague; they subsequently came to the University of Erfurt and, following its closure in 1819, finally to the University of Berlin. They are currently on display at the Erfurt City Museum. Like the sceptres, the academic gowns have not been used as symbols of institutional representation since 1968; however, the collection of gowns, comprising examples from the 1920s and 1950s, continues to be held in the art collection.
Guest Gifts
Commemorative plaques
Artwork of the Month
Publications relating to the collection
Further information on individual works or groups of works in the art collection can be found in the following publications:
- Angelika Keune: Gelehrtenbildnisse. der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Denkmäler, Büsten, Reliefs, Gedenktafeln. Gemälde, Zeichnungen, Graphiken, Medaillen, Berlin 2000. Link to Angelika Keune’s publication
- The ‘Artwork of the Month’ series
- Anna Seidel: Joseph Kopf, LOVISE GRAEFIN BOSE in der Kunstsammlung der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, in: Con bella maniera. Festgabe für Peter Seiler zum 65. Geburtstag, ed. by Michail Chatzidakis/Henrike Haug et al., Heidelberg 2021, pp. 465–488. Link to the text by Anna Seidel
- Bastianino: Das lebende Kreuz von Ferrara. Die Restaurierung eines vergessenen Altarbildes aus dem 16. Jahrhundert, edited by the Gemäldegalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin 2021. Link to the Bastianino exhibition
- Christina Kuhli: Die Geschichte der Kustodie der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin 1976–2019. Link to the publication by Christina Kuhli
Art in the office
As a member of staff at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, you have the opportunity to borrow works of art from the university’s collection for your offices. Please note the information provided below.
By accepting works of art into your office premises, you undertake to take reasonable care of the works. This also means that you are responsible for notifying the Custody immediately should you wish to change the location of the artwork – for example, when moving to another office or building – or in the event of damage or loss. Upon receiving of the artworks, a handover confirmation must be signed and returned to the Custody Office.
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