Philipp Demandt becomes new director of the Alte Nationalgalerie
Press release from 10/11/2011
The art historian Philipp Demandt will take over as director of the Alte Nationalgalerie of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz on 2 January 2012.
Philipp Demandt, born in 1971, studied art history, classical archaeology and journalism and completed his doctorate in 2001 at the Institute of History and Cultural Studies at the Free University of Berlin with a thesis on the history of the creation and impact of the Queen Luise portraits by Johann Gottfried Schadow and Christian Daniel Rauch and on the historical mythology of the Prussian state as reflected in the "Luis cult". After assisting with exhibitions at the Bröhan Museum in 2002, Demandt became a department head at the Kulturstiftung der Länder in 2004. His responsibilities included advising and supporting German cultural institutions in the acquisition of works of art from the 17th to 19th centuries and in corresponding exhibition projects. From 2007 to 2010, he was also scientific advisor and co-curator of the exhibition "Luise. Life and Myth of the Queen" exhibition at the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg.
Demandt was chosen due to his combination of proven expertise in 19th century art and extensive practical experience in modern cultural management.
The Alte Nationalgalerie was the first of the five buildings on the Museum Island to be completely renovated between 1998 and 2001 and houses paintings and sculptures from the 19th century. Its collection is part of the Nationalgalerie, which also includes the Neue Nationalgalerie, the Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum für Gegenwart - Berlin, the Museum Berggruen, the Scharf-Gerstenberg Collection and the Friedrichswerder Church.