The journey of lines
Creative workshop for children aged 5 to 10
The workshop begins with a short guided tour in German and/or Italian of the exhibition Italy in Lines of the artist Christoph Heinrich Kniep. Together we will discover his landscapes and views and take a closer look at how he manages to create entire worlds using simple lines.
Then the children become the protagonists: they draw their own imaginary landscapes – creative and inspired by the artist’s timeless images!
3 p.m. in German language / 4.30 p.m. in Italian language
Admission: 2.00 € per child, one accompanying adult free of charge
Registration: prenotazioni@casadigoethe.it
Event on the occasion of the exhibition Italy in lines. Master drawings by Christoph Heinrich Kniep, curated by Claudia Nordhoff, opened until 11.1.2026
In the context of the exhibition Italy in Lines. Master Drawings by Christoph Heinrich Kniep
For Goethe, the experience of Sicily was the defining moment of his journey through Italy. At this ‘wondrous point, towards which so many rays of world history are directed,’ as he himself wrote, his diverse interests converged: mythological and artistic as well as geological and scientific. This included the search for the original plant in the botanical garden of Palermo. Sicily thus became a key moment in his understanding of the world. He was accompanied by Christoph Heinrich Kniep, whose drawings made during the journey captured Goethe’s perception of the island and at the same time provide a deep insight into his world of thoughts and images.
Art historian Dr Christoph Orth has been curator of the graphic collections at the museums of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar since 2021, where he is responsible for Goethe’s collection of art on paper, for example. His work focuses on the art of drawing in the early modern period and the 19th century. His most recent publications include works on Goethe and Caspar David Friedrich.
On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of his death, the Casa di Goethe is the first museum in Italy to dedicate an exhibition to the graphic artist Christoph Heinrich Kniep (1755-1825).
Kniep is best known today as Goethe’s companion on his journey to Sicily. The exhibition also focuses on his further artistic work, with which he made a significant contribution to the work of German artists in Italy.
The exhibition presents over 40 works, including sepia drawings and watercolours.
In addition to drawings from the museum’s own collection, loans from the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, the Goethe-Museum Düsseldorf, the Hamburger Kunsthalle and the Istituto centrale per la grafica in Rome will also be on display.
The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue in German and Italian.
In collaboration with the Klassik Stiftung Weimar, Directorate of Mueums
With kind support of the Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung and the Tavolozza Foundation
Image: Christoph Heinrich Kniep: View of the Colosseum in Rome, 1788, Museum Casa di Goethe Rome