Caspar David Friedrich did it, just as Alfred Sisley and Auguste Rodin did; Claude Monet managed it all of 33 times. And the same is true of Picasso, Macke, Lichtenstein, Warhol and Gursky, to name just the most famous artists. They all let themselves be inspired by the grace, the radiance and majesty of famous cathedrals to produce wonderful works.

The fascinating path this motif has taken from the Romantics to the present day will be traced out at the Wallraf in autumn/winter 2014. In the major special exhibition, “The Cathedral”, the Cologne museum will present more than 180 exhibits that all explore that most monumental of mediaeval buildings. Included are four of the works in which Monet immortalised Rouen cathedral.

Using the example of the cathedral, the exhibition takes the visitor through a number of the most intriguing chapters of art history. But it will not simply show a wealth of interpretations from various epochs, but also point out suprising connections between the prominent artists themselves, while clarifying their personal aims, views and motivations

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