In 2023 the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf celebrated its 250th anniversary. In honor of this
special occasion a series of projects and events was organized. The anniversary also served as
an opportunity to rediscover two collections of the Kunstakademie: the Collection of Prints and
Drawings which contains a vast number of works by artists from the 15th 16th 17th and 18th
centuries as well as the Neue Sammlung (New Collection) with works by professors since 1945.
The Collection of Prints and Drawings already played a crucial role in 1773 when the
Kunstakademie was founded. Although it contains numerous masterpieces it was conceived as a
collection for teaching: the sketches revisions and completed works were intended to show
students the process of how art is created. Currently the collection comprises around 40 000
pieces. Since 1932 it has been on permanent loan to the Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf now the
Kunstpalast. To mark the anniversary year each student at the Kunstakademie was invited to
take part in this publication project. All participants were given a double-page spread in the
book to present one of their own works on the right-hand page and a work from one of the two
collections-chosen by the students themselves-on the opposite left-hand page. The collection
may be viewed in novel diverse ways through this juxtaposition of works creating a dialog
between the current works by young artists and the historical works from earlier centuries. The
result is an unusual publication-half of it is a book by artists the other half a collection
catalog-that invites us to explore a new comparative perspective.
