The history of the collection
In 1919-21 Hans Prinzhorn and the then director of the clinic Karl Wilmann wrote letters to psychiatrists in German-speaking countries asking for artistic patient works to establish a museum for psychopathological art.
In 1922, Prinzhorn published his richly illustrated study "Bildnerei der Geisteskranken" (Painting of the Mentally Ill) based on the collection, which appealed to many art lovers and artists of his time and became the picture bible of the Surrealists. Reissued several times and translated into various languages, the book remains a classic.
In 1938 hospital director Carl Schneider hands over works from the collection to the travelling exhibition "Degenerate Art". In the exhibition they are misused as pathological comparative material for modern art.
Forgotten after the war, Harald Szeemann's collection is rediscovered in 1963. He shows a selection at the Kunsthalle Bern. National and international exhibitions followed, which once again made the collection famous.
In 2001 the collection finally gets its own museum building, a converted old lecture theatre of neurology on the grounds of the old university hospital in Heidelberg.
The collection today
Since 1980, the collection has been growing again through art by people with psychiatric experience. This more recent stock now comprises about 20,000 works. Among them are works by Friedrich Boss, Gudrun Biersky, Vanda Vieira-Schmidt, Sonja Gerstner, Alfred Stief and Dietrich Orth. In order to be able to present new acquisitions regularly in the future and also a permanent exhibition alongside the temporary exhibitions, an extension is planned.
The Museum Prinzhorn Collection - Exhibitions and Research
The museum presents three to four thematic exhibitions a year. The aim of the museum is to contribute to the destigmatisation of mental illness. By contextualising and interpreting artistic works that are characterised by exceptional psychological experiences and their social consequences, it contributes to the inclusion of people affected by mental illness. As part of Heidelberg University Hospital, the house is not only a museum and exhibition venue, but also a scientific institution that researches the fate of the artists represented here, their works and overarching issues. For this reason, scientists, artists and other professionally interested parties can, by appointment, gain access to the museum's archive and depository holdings. The museum's scientific staff will be happy to provide further information and advice.
