The collection of Andalusian, predominantly Islamic ceramic tiles represents a fascinating, often overlooked milestone in the early history of the Folkwang Museum in Hagen. In building the collection, Karl Ernst and Gertrud Osthaus pursued a radical goal: to consistently break down the boundaries between elite art and everyday life. Alongside pioneering French avant-garde art and Oceanic sculptures, Islamic art was to become a central pillar of the „Weltkunstmuseum“ planned for Hagen.

Gathered in 1908 and 1909 – with the active assistance of Walter Gropius, who would later found the Bauhaus – the Spanish tiles were harmoniously integrated into the Folkwang Collection. Housed on the museum’s ground floor, this unique collection – supplemented by selected fragments of Islamic art – served as an introduction to Islamic aesthetics. For Osthaus, this area of collecting was not a side project, but the foundation of his Folkwang concept. The collection soon became the most significant collection of Spanish-Islamic ceramics alongside those in Madrid, New York, London, and Berlin.

For the collector couple, the ornament was far more than mere superfluous decoration; it was a living, structured surface. Since Moorish tiles from the 14th to 16th centuries avoided depicting humans and animals for religious reasons, the artisans of Al-Andalus relied entirely on mathematical precision and infinitely repeating patterns. Osthaus recognized in this geometry a direct parallel to the abstraction of European modernism. By presenting these historical models, he built a bridge to the present in order to inspire contemporary artisans and architects anew.

The exhibition on the ground floor honors this extraordinary collecting practice and brings the couple’s groundbreaking vision back to life through selected loans from the Museum Folkwang in Essen.

A project in cooperation with the Museum Folkwang in Essen, which will simultaneously present the exhibition „NACH DAMASKUS ... Karl Ernst Osthaus und die islamischen Künste“ from November 6, 2026, through February 21, 2027.