The Lehmbruck Museum in Duisburg is characterised by its unique collection of modern sculptures. Here, particular focus is placed on the key works of Wilhelm Lehmbruck.

This museum succeeds the Kunstmuseum Duisburg, which was founded in 1924 in a separate location. During the Nazi regime, the Kunstmuseum Duisburg lost around 100 works, including works from the most important period of Lehmbruck's artistic career (1910–1918). The building in which the museum is currently housed was designed by Lehmbruck's son, Manfred, in 1958. The museum was opened in 1964, featuring the Lehmbruck wing and the glass hall. An extension was built in 1987. In 2009, the Lehmbruck Museum was able to acquire the vast estate left behind by the sculptor: 33 sculptures, 18 paintings, 11 pastels, 819 drawings and 260 graphic prints.

Masterpieces

The museum contrasts art from the born and bred artist from Duisburg, which can be classified as Classic Modernism, with sculptures from different eras. These range from cubist works, to abstract and expressionistic artworks, to constructivist and minimalistic masterpieces. Many important 20th- and 21st-century artists are featured in the collection, for example Joseph Beuys, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Rebecca Horn, Anish Kapoor, Käthe Kollwitz, Meret Oppenheim and Jean Tinguely.

A visit to the Lehmbruck Museum is an absolute must for all fans of sculpture from both within and outside the Metropolis Ruhr. With the sculptures "Femme au chariot", "The Forest" and "The Leg", the museum is also home to the most significant group of works by Alberto Giacometti in Germany – as well as to significant works of German painting which date back to the 19th century.

Park Sculptures and Art Mediation

At the Lehmbruck Museum, there are no fixed boundaries between indoors and outdoors, nature and art. The incredibly open architecture of the museum – which is located in the middle of the Immanuel-Kant-Park – follows the principle "art is for everyone". In accordance with this principle, approximately 40 large sculptures from artists such as Magdalena Abakanowicz, Tony Cragg or Henry Moore can be found in the public park surrounding the Lehmbruck Museum.

The wide-ranging art mediation programme also enables people to access art on all levels. For example, while families are able to create and design in the "City Atelier", older fans of art can take on the role of "art associate" and participate in the museum's work through projects of their own.