Museum Ludwig

One of Europe’s most significant art museums 

The biggest Pop Art collection outside the USA, the world’s third-largest Picasso collection, masterpieces of Expressionism and the New Objectivity style, photographs from the beginnings of photography to the present day, works by significant representatives of the Russian avant-garde, and contemporary art — if you’re an art lover, the Museum Ludwig is one of the places you absolutely need to visit in Cologne.

Here you’ll find works by Dix, Chagall, Warhol, Lichtenstein, Richter, Mondrian, Man Ray, Hockney, Polke and Klee as well as Macke, Pollock, Dali, Klein and Kirchhoff. It’s an exhibition that displays a representative cross-section of the art created over approximately the past 125 years.

The basis of the collection: Donations by Haubrich and Ludwig

The foundation of this extraordinary collection was laid by two valuable donations. In 1946, Josef Haubrich gave the city of Cologne his art collection, which includes central works of Expressionism such as the Portrait of Doctor Hans Koch by Otto Dix. In 1976, Irene and Peter Ludwig donated a unique art collection that includes masterworks of American Pop Art, such as M-Maybe by Roy Liechtenstein.

These were followed by other unique donations, such as many Picassos by the art-collecting Ludwigs. Thanks to these donations, the museum today owns the world’s third-largest collection of works by Picasso, including his major cycles of graphic works as well as paintings, ceramics and sculptures.

Also in the Museum Ludwig: 70,000 photographic works

Is photography art? Today no one needs to answer this question. The Museum Ludwig established its Photography Collection in 1977 — thus becoming one of the first museums of modern art to permanently include photography as an art form in its inventory of exhibits. Today the Ludwig collection comprises 70,000 photographic works, ranging from the beginnings of photography to the present day. Selections from the total inventory are presented on a rotating basis in order to preserve the photosensitive display pieces over the long term. 

Would you like to have an overview of the museum’s entire inventory before you make your visit?  Or to sharpen your focus on the highlights, photography, art since 1960, Pop Art or Expressionism? Here you can find a good overview of the works in the Museum Ludwig.