Today, we are more likely to encounter sculptures in photographs than in person. These images shape how we see, remember, and understand three-dimensional art. Photography Tells Sculpture explores this shift in perspective by placing sculptures and their photographic representations in direct conversation, inviting visitors to experience the act of seeing in a whole new way.

The exhibition features over sixty photographs from the late 19th century to the present, alongside seven carefully selected sculptures dating from the 11th to the 17th century. Organized into nine thematic chapters, it reveals how photographic techniques—such as lighting, framing, and perspective—stage and interpret sculptural forms.

By linking the Bode Museum’s sculpture collection with its previously little-known photographic archive, the exhibition offers fresh insights into both media. A richly illustrated catalogue accompanies the show, with contributions from Dr. Franziska Lampe (Photothek, Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte, Munich), Prof. Dr. Kathrin Müller (Institute for Art and Visual History, Humboldt University, Berlin), and other experts, providing in-depth perspectives from across the field of art history.