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OTHER FORMS OF SENSING

An engaging evening full of new stories to be discovered with OTHER FORMS OF SENSING – 120 years of Villa Romana Florenz in which Casa di Goethe, on December 4th, 2025, has been transformed into an experimental space with site specific works, performances and installations. Special thanks to the artists fellows of Villa Romana Raul Walch, Sajan Mani, Chaveli Sifre, Elia Nurvista, and ot Elena Agudio and Mistura Allison, who, with the moderation of Gregor H. Lersch have given a deep insight into the life and history of Villa Romana.

In collaboration with Villa Romana, Florenz

Sponsored by Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung

With the kind support of the German Academy Rome Villa Massimo

Photos: @ Andrea Veneri

Christoph Heinrich Kniep, Goethe’s illustrator. An artist’s life in Rome and Naples

Claudia Nordhoff, curator of the exhibition “Italy in lines. Master Drawings by Christoph Heinrich Kniep”, gives a lecture at the Goethemuseum Düsseldorf on 15 October on the subject of “Christoph Heinrich Kniep, Goethe’s illustrator. An artist’s life in Rome and Naples”.

The lecture will trace the life of the artist Christoph Heinrich Kniep, who travelled from Hamburg to Rome to join the German artist community there, and finally to Naples, where Kniep lived and worked for forty years. His journey with Goethe will be examined in detail, as will his work in Rome and Naples, where his drawings were highly sought after by travellers.

Photo: Christoph Heinrich Kniep (1755-1825): Ideal landscape with Pyramus and Thisbe and echoes of the Bay of Palermo with Monte Pellegrino. Washed ink over pen and ink drawing, 1787. From the collection of the Goethe Museum/Anton and Katharina Kippenberg Stiftung

Opening of the exhibition “Italy in Lines. Master Drawings by Christoph Heinrich Kniep”

On 24 September, we inaugurated the exhibition ‘Italy in Lines. Master Drawings by Christoph Heinrich Kniep’, curated by Claudia Nordhoff, with a large audience very interested in the highly detailed landscapes of the German artist who accompanied Goethe on his journey to Sicily.

The exhibition is open until 11 January 2026. We look forward to seeing you there!

An exhibition in collaboration with the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, Directorate of Mueums

With kind support of the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung and the Tavolozza Foundation

Christoph Heinrich Kniep, an artist’s life in Rome and Naples – lecture

At the Museum Casa di Goethe, preparations are underway for a major exhibition of Kniep’s work, which will open on 24 September. Before that, however, our colleague Claudia Nordhoff will be giving a lecture on this unique draughtsman and Goethe’s travelling companion in Sicily on 3 July at 6 p.m. in Hildesheim, Kniep’s native town. The event is being organised by the Hildesheim Heritage and History Society, which is commemorating the city’s famous son. We are delighted about this connection between the Casa di Goethe and Hildesheim and wish the audience there an entertaining and informative evening!

Ulrike Petzold: Rudolf Jacobs – Ein Bremer Partisan in Norditalien 1944

We are delighted to announce the publication of the volume Rudolf Jacobs – Ein Bremer Partisan in Norditalien 1944 by author and reporter Ulrike Petzold. She conducted her detailed research for this book partly during her scholarship stay at the Casa di Goethe 2021.

The book will now be presented on 7 May at 6 p.m. at the Centro Studi Memoria in Rete di via Valle 6, La Spezia.