Museum of engravings and drawings

The Museum of Prints and Drawings is the largest collection of graphics in Germany and one of the four most important in the world. It consists of more than 550,000 graphic works and 110,000 drawings in watercolors, pastels and oils. The museum includes works by major artists ranging from Sandro Botticelli and Albrecht Durer to Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and Rembrandt.

Remarkably, the collections in the museum are not permanent, but only as temporary exhibitions. Under the influence of temperature, moisture and sunlight, the work fades, the sheets become brittle, and then it becomes impossible to restore the picture. Therefore, most of the time they spend in specially equipped storage facilities, where the necessary level of humidity and temperature is maintained. The artworks are securely protected.

In addition to exhibitions, the museum conducts active research activities, which consists in analyzing handwritten texts of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, drawings and sketches, as well as the authenticity of works of art.