Migration
A diverse collection spanning 700 years awaits at Frankfurt’s Staedel Art Museum
Stars and Stripes
September 17, 2020
The outside of the Staedel Museum in Frankfurt, Germany on August 2, 2020. The Staedel Museum is named after Frankfurt banker Johann Staedel, who laid the cornerstone for the art museum in 1815. (Immanuel Johnson/Stars and Stripes)
The outside of the Staedel Museum in Frankfurt, Germany on August 2, 2020. The Staedel Museum is named after Frankfurt banker Johann Staedel, who laid the cornerstone for the art museum in 1815. (Immanuel Johnson/Stars and Stripes)
The inside of the Staedel Museum before entering the Alte Meister gallery in Frankfurt, Germany on August 2, 2020. The Staedel Museum is named after Frankfurt banker Johann Staedel, who included in his will a clause creating the art museum in 1815. (Immanuel Johnson/Stars and Stripes)
This painting, known as Horde by Daniel Richter, represents a life full of hatred and aggression. The painting is hung at the Staedel Museum in Frankfurt, Germany. (Immanuel Johnson/Stars and Stripes)
A painting called Spectrum by Tony Cragg shows a mosaic of common plastic waste that is thrown away. The painting is hung at the Staedel Museum in Frankfurt. (Immanuel Johnson/Stars and Stripes)
A sculpture of French sculptor Auguste Rodin, who is best known for The Thinker, is seen at the Staedel Museum in Frankfurt. (Immanuel Johnson/Stars and Stripes)
When Frankfurt banker and spice dealer Johann Friedrich Staedel wrote his will in 1815, he included a clause that led to the creation of what was to become Germany’s oldest museum foundation.
The result of the inclusion in the then-elderly man’s testament — Staedel died the next year at the age of 88 — is the Staedel Art Museum in Frankfurt.
The museum has a vast collection of paintings, sculptures, photos and more than 100,000 drawings and prints that take visitors through 700 years of European art.
Under a single roof, the museum’s collection includes works from the early 14th century to the present, from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, to early modern art, and more, the Staedel says on its website.
There are works by Pablo Picasso, Max Beckmann and Sandro Botticelli, to name a few.
The collection is huge. Taking it all in would probably require at least two days.
During the coronavirus pandemic, which Germany has under better control than many other countries, the museum requires a timed ticket, which, as its name implies, gives the holder a precise time and date to show up at the museum. This helps the Staedel to “regulate visitor entry as a precautionary measure to guard against infection” and gives the holder admission to all exhibitions and the permanent collection.
But getting too close to an item in the gallery will cause an alarm to sound and guards to appear out of nowhere. So maintain social distance from the works of art as well as other people at the museum.
The self-service cafe, next to the gift shop that all museums seem to have, offers a sweeping view of Frankfurt and the Main River, but it’s closed now because of the coronavirus.
There are many other dining options just outside the Staedel, though, including the Holbein Cafe and the Liebieghaus Cafe.
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DIRECTIONS: Address: Schaumainkai 63, 60596 Frankfurt am Main; I parked at the Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt and took the train to the city center and walked to the museum from there. There is also parking at the museum.
TIMES: Closed Mondays. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday from 10 a.m. 9 p.m. Hours may vary on holidays.
COSTS: Entry is 14 euros.
INFORMATION: Online: staedelmuseum.de; tourist office: +49 (0) 69-605098-200