EXHIBITION
Mama – From Mary to Merkel

Marie-Victoire-Lemoine-Portraet-Madame-de-Lucqui-with-her-daughter-Anne-Aglae-Deluchi-1800-Oil-on-canvas-100-x-81-cm-Arp-Museum-Bahnhof Rolandseck Sammlung Rau-for UNICEF

Hannah Höch, Woman and Saturn, 1922, oil on canvas, 86.6 x 66.7 cm

Marta Worringer, Mother, 1926, tempera on paper, 47.5 x 35.7 cm, Kunstmuseum Bonn

Gabriel von Max, Die Kindsmörderin, 1877, oil on canvas, 160.5 x 111 cm, Hamburger Kunsthalle, gift of the Verein von den Kunstfreunden 1870, 1885

Alice Neel, La famille, 1980, oil on canvas, 147 x 127 cmAlice Neel, La famille, 1980, oil on canvas, 147 x 127 cm

Nina Hagen, Unbeschreiblich Weiblich, Turntable cover, 1978, 18,7 x 18,7cm

The Sunday Times Magazine: Auf Wiedersehen, Mutti, Zeitschrift, 2021, Stiftung Museum Kunstpalast

Max Reimer, Ein Volk hilft sich selbst, Nachdruck eines Plakats des Winterhilswerkes um 1938, 59,5 x 42 cm, Deutsches Historisches Museum Berlin

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Images of motherhood between myth and reality

From 12 March to 3 August 2025, the Kunstpalast Düsseldorf is dedicating MAMA – From Maria to Merkel to the theme of motherhood from an artistic, social and historical perspective. Around 120 works from the 14th century to the present day provide insights into images of motherhood between religious ideal, political attribution and personal experience. Paintings, sculptures, photographs, video installations, everyday objects, music and advertising materials unfold a multi-layered panorama.

The exhibition is divided into eight chapters and thematises motherhood between the ideal image, care work, family models and the desire to have children. Works by Paula Modersohn-Becker, Aldo Giannotti, Camille Henrot, Martha Rosler and Caroline Walker open up different perspectives. Angela Merkel and the Virgin Mary also appear as cultural mother figures. A sound installation with personal voice messages complements the exhibition with individual voices.

The show was curated by Linda Conze, Westrey Page and Anna Christina Schütz. They see the exhibition as an invitation to a dialogue about motherhood, care and identity. An extensive accompanying programme picks up on these themes – with workshops, lectures and events on mental health. The audio guide is spoken by Marie-Luise Marjan, known to many as “Mutter Beimer” from the TV series Lindenstraße.

Further information

The exhibition Mama – From Mary to Merkel can be seen at Kunstpalast Düsseldorf from 12 March to 3 August 2025. Further information can be found on the Kunstpalast website.