WHITE WEDDING
SOON COMPLETE!
The Reiner Winkler
Ivory Collection
at the Liebieghaus
Please note:
Due to renovation work, the collection presentation “White Wedding” will not be accessible from 26 April to 1 June 2022. As of 2 June, the Reiner Winkler Ivory Collection will once again be on view as part of the follow-up exhibition “Splendid White”.
A few years ago, the Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung succeeded in making the most significant addition to its own holdings in the history of the museum: a collection of precious ivory sculptures of the Baroque and Rococo periods from the estate of the patron Reiner Winkler (1925–2020). The Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung, the Städelsche Museums-Verein, and the Städel Museum, with the support of the Kulturstiftung der Länder and the Hessische Kulturstiftung, acquired this unique collection, which was made possible in the first place by Reiner Winkler’s generous donation of the majority of the collection.
Since then, masterpieces by world-famous sculptors, such as “Fury on a Charging Horse” (1610), “The Three Parcae” (ca. 1670), “Chronos on the Globe” (ca. 1720/25?), and the “Allegory of Damnation in Hell (Anima Dannata?)” (1736) have been on display at the Liebieghaus in the exhibition “White Wedding.”
With the exhibition and new collection presentation “Splendid White,” the Reiner Winkler Ivory Collection at the Liebieghaus is now complete: as of 2 June 2022, more than 200 historical ivory works will be presented – including a further twenty-one outstanding works of art that remained in the private collection of Reiner Winkler until his death and are now accessible to the public for the first time. In the new collection presentation, the beauty, virtuosity, and richness of variation of baroque ivory carving can be experienced in an impressive way. The last works of art to be displayed and hung in the patron’s private home, including portrait medallions, large-format reliefs with Christian religious motifs and genre scenes, as well as an impressive combination figure, add essential exhibits to the previous collection presentation at the Liebieghaus.
The publication and exhibition “Splendid Wedding” are supported by Stiftung Reiner Winkler and Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung
The publication and exhibition „White Wedding“ were supported by Stiftung Reiner Winkler, Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung, and the City of Frankfurt
The acquisition was made possible by Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung, Städelscher Museums-Verein, Kulturstiftung der Länder and Hessische Kulturstiftung
Over the course of decades, the collector and patron Reiner Winkler (1925–2020) compiled a private collection of ivory sculptures with a focus on Baroque objects. Winkler built up his collection continuously from 1962 onwards. After a few years of collecting sculptures in various materials and from different periods, he soon concentrated entirely on ivory sculptures of the 17th and 18th centuries, and to a very small extent of the early 19th century.
Winkler was closely associated with the Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung and provided the museum with loans for exhibitions on several occasions. At the Liebieghaus, his collection will now find “its new and permanent home” and will thus be preserved “as a ‘Gesamtkunstwerk,’” as Reiner Winkler wished and expressed himself on the occasion of the acquisition in 2019. The unique collection expanded the Liebieghaus’ own internationally important holdings at the highest level. The acquisition also established European ivory art as the central focus of the Liebieghaus’ Baroque and Rococo department – a focus that has since been intensively researched and didactically communicated.
„[it] is the largest addition to the collection in its history”
Chronos on the Globe, Matthias Steinl, ca. 1720/25
Matthias Steinl (1643/44–1727)
Vienna, ca. 1720/25?
Ivory, lapis lazuli
H. ca. 19 cm, W. ca. 14 cm, D. ca. 13 cm, globe: D. ca. 5,5 cm
Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung - Reiner Winkler Collection, Frankfurt am Main
Photo: Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung
Portrait of Pope Clement XI, Rome, ca. 1710
Rome, ca. 1710
After a medal by Charles Claude Dubut (1657?‒1742) dating from 1707
Ivory, wooden frame, gilded brass, softwood
H. 10,2 cm, W. 8,5 cm; with Frame: H. 21,4 cm, W. 16,6 cm
Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung - Reiner Winkler Collection, Frankfurt am Main
Photo: Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung
Man with Pipe and Tankard, Dozing Off, Paul Heermann, 1st third of 18th century
Paul Heermann (1673–1732)
Dresden? 1st third of 18th century
Ivory
H. ca. 13 cm, W. ca. 8,8 cm
Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung - Reiner Winkler Collection, Frankfurt am Main
Photo: Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung
Beggar-Woman with Tamburin de Béarn and Child, Simon Troger and workshop, 1730s
Simon Troger (1693–1768) and workshop
Munich-Haidhausen 1730s
Ivory, softwood, glass eyes
H. with base plate 29 cm; child: H. 22,5 cm; W. ca. 32,5 cm
Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung ‒ Sammlung Reiner Winkler, Frankfurt am Main
Foto: Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung
St Catherine with Angel Putto, Innsbruck or Augsburg, ca. 1600
Innsbruck or Augsburg, ca. 1600
Pear or boxtree wood, partial polychromy: gold leaf, silver leaf, pigments, various binding/adhesive mediums, silvered glass beads (adhesive: wax resin), coloured and clear rhinestones (partially cut), later repairs with wax beads
H. 14 cm, W. 9,2 cm
Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung
Photo: Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung
The Visitation of Mary, Jean-Antoine Belleteste, ca. 1770‒1780
Jean-Antoine Belleteste (1731‒1811)
Dieppe, ca. 1770‒1780
Ivory, wood panel, wood frame, tortoiseshell, black lacquer
Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung - Reiner Winkler Collection, Frankfurt am Main
Photo: Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung
The Adoration of the Christ Child by the Shepherds, Sicily, 1st third of 18th century
Sicily, 1st third of 18th century?
Ivory, haloes of gilded copper
H. 14,9 cm, W. 8,5 cm, D. 2,8 cm
Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung - Reiner Winkler Collection, Frankfurt am Main
Photo: Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung
Allegory of Damnation in Hell,
Johann Christoph Ludwig Lücke, 1736
Johann Christoph Ludwig Lücke (1703–1780)
Dresden, 1736
Ivory
H. 14,8 cm, W. 10 cm, D. 2,3 cm
Liebieghaus Skulpturensammlung ‒ Sammlung Reiner Winkler, Frankfurt am Main
„a dazzling display“