Submitted by Olivia Mann on the 2017 winter session program in Leipzig, Germany sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures…
The last thing Frau Busch said to us, when we boarded the train to Berlin from the central station in Leipzig, was “Remember, kids, Berlin is a big, big city.” And there is no doubt, Berlin is a big city! But, let us not forget that it is also both an exhilarating and totally navigable city.
Even though, as a group, we spent three days in Berlin, I can easily pinpoint some of my favorite moments. All of these moments have to do with our Sunday trip to Museum Island. As an art history and history major, the chance to see Monet, Seurat, the Nazarenes, Caspar David Friedrich, Schinkel and Overbeck, all in the Old National Gallery, was perhaps too much to handle; I was transfixed, mesmerized and enraptured by art throughout the day. Not to mention, I also caught a very long-winded glimpse at Nefertiti in the New Museum before making my way to the Old National Gallery. Hours went quickly. Perpetually, but thoughtfully, exhausted, I sought comfort and renewal in the art of Museum Island.
Art transcended the walls of the museums on Museum Island. As I walked from the Old National Gallery, back to our splendid hostel, I wandered upon a local art & antique fair. Once again, I found myself transfixed by the work of artists, those of the Old National Gallery, the Old Museum and the New Museum, but also the work of artists living in Berlin, in this very moment.
Often, people appreciate art of the past, but not artists of the present. Walking through the local art & antique fair, I saw this gap recoil and diminish; perhaps this is something particular of city scapes or Europe. Despite its origin, I will surely bring this conjoined appreciation of past art and the present artist back to the United States, in full-force. Now, more than ever, this is the appreciation we need of people and their muses.