Bode Museum
Am Kupfergraben
10117 Berlin
U- & S-Bahn
Friedrichstrasse, S-Bahn Hackeschenmarkt
The showpiece at the pointy northern end of Museumsinsel
(Museum Island), the Bode Museum is a star in every way. The neobaroque structure
greets the city from three directions and lures the eye with its colonnaded,
rounded form topped with two restored copper-covered cupolas. Built up against
the edge of the island, it reminds me somewhat of the prow of a ship; and
indeed it is an enormous, royal and majestic vessel of art.
Museumsinsel is a small island in the middle of the Spree
River, and home to five museums built over roughly 70 years through the 19th century.
Its variety of architectural styles and vast wealth of art spanning thousands
of years has quite rightly gained it a Unesco World Heritage Site designation,
and ensures it’s one of Berlin’s key attractions. The Bode Museum was the last
museum to be built on the island, and opened in 1904 with the name
Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum after the deceased emperor. Damaged during WWII, the
museum was afterwards restored and renamed.
The museum was originally built to house Renaissance art,
but these days is home to the incredible Sculpture Collection, the Museum of Byzantine
Art and, on the second floor, the Münzkabinett coin collection. The trail
through art history is long and intricate in this museum, leading you from
early Byzantine to Italian Renaissance and neoclassicism. The range on display
here is both enormous and impressive, from pale and lifelike marble statues of
classical mythology, to large fireplaces and altarpieces; from small metalwork
artefacts to large marble columns. The big names are here, too: watch for the tender
Pazzi Madonna by Donatello. The depth, number and variety of art and artifacts makes
it impossible to absorb it all in just one visit.
For me, the architecture itself is part of the great thrill
of this museum. In the entrance beneath the main cupola a large bronze statue
of Kaiser Wilhelm mounted on a steed takes centre stage, but it’s the design of
the palace that takes all the attention. The enormous cupola soars above pale
marble floors, pink marbled colonnades and sweeping staircases with gilded
ornamentation. The space feels almost hallowed; it’s still and magnificent. This
space is joined to the smaller, also lovely, cupola by a long basilica.
The gallery spaces run off the small cupola on the ground
floor through unmarked dark-wood doors. Discrete signs next to them are the
only indication that this is the way to the various collections. The experience
of the Bode is a little like navigating a pick-a-path book that you might have
had when you were a child. Which door will you choose? What will it lead you
to? There’s a wonderful mazelike and secretive feeling to this layout. The
marble floors are the restored originals, and don’t forget to look up as you
work your way through the galleries to gaze at the original restored wood
panelled ceilings. The experience here is full-bodied and three dimensional, as
if you’re walking through art itself.
