07.08.2017
For many years, the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin enjoyed a close partnership with Martin Roth, who died on Sunday at the age of 62. Starting with his time as Director-General of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Roth collaborated with the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin on numerous groundbreaking international projects.
Among the numerous major exhibition projects realised in collaboration with Martin Roth were: “Views of Europe: Europe and 19th-Century German Painting,” shown in Brussels in 2007; “Living Landscapes: A Journey through German Art” and “Gerhard Richter’s Paintings 1963–2007“ (both 2008, Beijing); and “The Art of the Enlightenment” (2011/12, Beijing). Martin Roth also provided important early inspiration for the recent exhibition, “Renaissance and Reformation in the Age of Dürer and Cranach,” in Los Angeles. Even in his role as Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Martin Roth remained connected to the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. This relationship is best exemplified by the successful exhibition project, “The Botticelli Renaissance” (2015/2016), which was shown in both locations.
In a personal statement, Michael Eissenhauer, Director-General of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, announced: “It was with shock and dismay that I heard the news of the untimely death of Martin Roth. My thoughts are with his family and his close friends. Martin Roth was a colleague who enriched all of us and was always a willing partner for dialogue, from whom we could always expect worthwhile advice. Collaborative projects that effectively made culture accessible both in Germany and abroad were of utmost importance to him. His critical spirit could be challenging at times, but was extremely highly valued as a catalyst and inspiration. We will miss Martin Roth.”