What's On at Europe's Museums

Three Eras of Klee in Northern Germany

The Hamburger Kunsthalle, the Sprengel Museum, Hannover, and the Kunsthalle Bremen

Three northern German museums are cooperating on a series of exhibitions devoted to showing the many sides of the painter and graphic artist Paul Klee (1979-1940). Entitled "Klee in the North," the simultaneous exhibitions will run at the Kunsthalle Bremen, the Hamburger Kunsthalle, and the Sprengel Museum in Hannover. The Bremen show looks at Klee's role as one of the key players (before 1931) in the German Bauhaus movement, while the Hamburg museum looks exclusively at the year 1933, when the artist's work took on the themes of a changing Germany, including growing anti-Semitism and militarism. The Hannover museum picks up in Switzerland, where Klee spent his later years in exile.

"Klee in the North" takes place at three museums. The Kunsthalle Bremen runs until February 29, 2004. The museum is opened from 10am - 6pm Wednesdays through Sundays, Tuesdays from 10am - 10pm and closed on Mondays. The Hamburg show runs until March 7, 2004 at the Hamburger Kunsthalle, which is opened Tuesdays through Sundays from 10am - 6pm, Thursdays until 9pm, and closed Mondays. The Sprengel Museum in Hannover runs its show until February 15, 2004. It is opened Wednesdays through Sundays from 10am - 6pm, Tuesdays till 8pm, and closed Mondays.

Melancholy in Venice

Salzburg Residence Gallery, Salzburg, Austria

Harmonic and balanced with warm tones that achieve refined lighting effects and sketchy volatility: that is how the master works of Venice painting from the 16th and 17 century are presented at the Salzburg Residence Gallery in Salzburg. The collection of Luigi Koelliker, which includes works by Palma il Giovane, Padovanino, Pietro Liberi and Domenico Fetti, is on display until February 1, 2004 in an exhibition entitled "Melancholy Venice."

At the Salzburg Residence Gallery, "Melancholy in Venice" runs until February 1, 2004. The gallery is opened Tuesdays - Sunday from 10am - 5pm.

Spanish Jugendstil in Italy

Chiostro del Bramante, Rome, Italy

Antonio Gaudi (1852-1926) is widely considered one of the most important architects of the modern era. His name is synonymous with the "new Catalonian" architectural style, the Spanish version of the middle European Jugendstil. A large exhibit in Rome's Chiostro del Bramante -- showing until February 29, 2004 -- includes furniture pieces Gaudi designed for his famous houses and palaces. Also on display, a large model of one of his seminal works, Barcelona's Sagrada Familia. Alltogether, the exhibit contains a total of 120 works, including the paintings, manifestos, ceramics and jewelry of Gaudi's contemporaries, including Ramon Casas, Santiago Rusignoi and Hermenegil Anglada Camarsa.

"Gaudi's Catalonian Modernism" is on display at the Chiostro del Bramante in Rome until February 29, 2004. The museum is opened daily from 10am - 7pm, Saturdays from 10 am - 11pm, and closed Mondays.

Hajek: Germany's Cultural Ambassador to Prague

The Prague National Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic

The National Gallery in Prague is dedicating a large exhibition to the German sculptor Otto Herbert Hajek from January 22 to the end of April, 2004. The Stuttgart-born artist was the first West German artist to exhibit his work in Prague after World War II, and he has since been credited with creating a cultural bridge between the Czech Republic and Germany. This latest exhibit, including 23 large oil paintings, the highlight of which is a 4.5 meter painting called "The Trinity," is the artist's fourth exhibit in the Czech Republic.

The work of Otto Herbert Hajek is on display at the Prague National Gallery from January 22 - April 30, 2004. The gallery is opened daily from 10am - 6pm, closed Mondays.