What's on at Europe's Museums

Art in the Weimar Republic

Neues Museum Weimar, Germany

This stunning new exhibition will present a comprehensive selection from the National Gallery collection of German art from the 1920s. In a fascinating and colorful collection of some 50 paintings and further photographs, graphics and posters, the exhibition pays testimony to the extensive variety of aesthetic approaches applied during the period. With examples of Expressionism, Dadaism, Constructivism and Socialist Realism, the show includes works by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, Wassily Kandinsky and Otto Natel.

"Art in the Weimar Republic" runs from August 21 - October 24 and is open Tuesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. and from August 24 - September 19, Thursday to Saturday, from 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.

True Europeans, "Born in Europe"

Martin Gropius Bau, Berlin

"Born in Europe - New Identities" consists of photographic and video works by 12 artists from ten different European countries who have dealt with the desires, hopes and fears of people who currently live and plan to remain on the continent. With subject matter ranging from fearful African immigrants seeking European homes, to the background and identity of "new Europeans," to a pan-European soccer team based in Berlin to young girls and urban culture, the exhibition shows an eclectic mix of life, joy and frustration in Europe.

"Born in Europe - New Identities" runs from August 21 - October 17 and is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day except Tuesday.

Matisse Enchants the South

Annonciade Museum, St. Tropez, France

Henri Matisse fans have the chance this summer to take in a light-filled array of his work from the period 1898 to 1917. The Annonciade Museum, which is dedicated to supporting artistic creation in France from the early 20th century, is staging the exhibition to tie in with the centenary of the artist's first visit to St. Tropez. The "Enchantment of the South" exhibition contains 39 paintings inspired by the time that Matisse spent in Corsica, St. Tropez, Collioure and even Morocco.

"Enchantment of the South" runs through to October 11 and is open from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. every day except Tuesday.

Impressionism from Milwaukee to Gdansk

National Museum in Gdansk, Poland

For the first time, the harbor city of Gdansk is showing an exhibition of works from the Milwaukee Art Museum. Eleven prestigious paintings by French impressionists and post-impressionists are now on display at the city's national museum. The show, entitled "Parisian Lesson" contains canvases by Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Armand Guillaumin, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Claude Monet's "Waterloo Bridge." The museum, which is housed in a former Franciscan monestary is one of the oldest in Poland and a showpiece in itself.

"Parisian Lesson" runs through Oct. 3 and is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day except Tuesday.

Mapplethorpe's Black and White World

Kunst Meran, Austria

Photographer and taboo-breaker Robert Mappelthorpe was always trying to capture beauty through the lens of his camera. An exhibition in the South Tirolean town of Meran is now showing a collection of his black and white photographs, largely dedicated to his favorite subjects of flowers, the body and Eros. Through the exhibition "The World of Robert Mappelthorpe," the Kunst Meran gallery aims to show that contemporary art has never strayed far from the concept of classic ideals.

"The World of Robert Mappelthorpe" runs through to August 29 and is open every day from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. except Monday.