The Women of the Liebermann Family, Photos: Martha Liebermann with dachshund, around 1900, Zornsamlingarna Mora; Suse Byk: Maria Riezler in the rose garden, around 1922, Katherine Whild; Käthe Liebermann, detail, after 1906, private collection; Collage: Ta-Trung Berlin

In Focus. Martha, Käthe and Maria

The Women of the Liebermann Family

The women of the Liebermann family had a decisive influence on Max Liebermann’s life. “My ladies” is how he affectionately referred to them. His wife Martha, their daughter Käthe and granddaughter Maria provide the focus of this exhibition. We follow in the footsteps of the three women, using artworks and previously undiscovered sources to explore their lives. How did Max Liebermann portray Marthe, Käthe and Maria? And what fate befell them after Max’s death in 1935?

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About the exhibition

The exhibition is built around new discoveries regarding the women of the Liebermann family: Martha (1857-1943), the artist’s wife, Käthe (1885-1952), their daughter, and Maria (1917-1995), Max and Martha Liebermann’s beloved granddaughter. The project approaches these figures through works of art, literary references, family correspondence and previously undiscovered sources, in particular relating to the fate Käthe and Maria in American exile.

Martha Liebermann (born Marckwald) had known Max Liebermann since her youth, and the Marckwald and Liebermann families were closely linked. She stood at her husband’s side for over 50 years – was at the same time known as a strong personality who knew how to assert herself.

The exhibition lays particular focus on the artist’s daughter Käthe Riezler (born Liebermann) and his granddaughter Maria White (born Riezler). New research paints a clearer picture of the two women and their lives. Käthe, for example, had a wide range of interests; she played tennis and took drawing lessons. Maria Riezler, Käthe and Kurt’s daughter, was born in 1917 and brought much joy to the family. The family bond was strong and the Riezlers often visited Martha and Max at what is now the Liebermann Villa on Wannsee. Max Liebermann’s paintings of his family provide us today with rare insights into their private life.

The rise of the Nazi regime brought drastic changes for the Jewish Liebermann family. The exhibition recounts Martha’s tragic final years in Berlin. Käthe, her husband Kurt and the 21-year-old Maria were able to flee to America in 1938. The show explores in particular the later life of Maria – primarily known as a child in the paintings of her grandfather – as a young woman rebuilding her life in New York.

Highlights

Käthe Liebermann as a young woman, after 1918, Ursula Leonhard, England
Max Liebermann, The artist sketching with his family, Study, 1925, Oil on canvas, Max-Liebermann-Gesellschaft, Photo: Oliver Ziebe
Suse Byk, Maria Riezler in the rose garden, Detail, around 1922, Katharine Whild
Max Liebermann, The granddaughter in a pushchair to the right, 1918, Oil on canvas, Max-Liebermann-Gesellschaft, Photo: Oliver Ziebe
Käthe Liebermann as a young woman, after 1906, Private Collection
Max Liebermann, Reading woman (Martha Liebermann), around 1888, Ink on paper, Max-Liebermann-Gesellschaft
Max Liebermann, View of the Wannsee garden to the east, 1921, Oil on canvas, Permanent loan, Collection Jöns Lahmann, Photo: Oliver Ziebe
Max Liebermann, Granddaughter and nanny playing in the garden, 1929, Andreas B. Heilig, Kunsthandel, Frankfurt am Main
Käthe Liebermann as a young woman, after 1918, Ursula Leonhard, England
Max Liebermann, The artist sketching with his family, Study, 1925, Oil on canvas, Max-Liebermann-Gesellschaft, Photo: Oliver Ziebe
Suse Byk, Maria Riezler in the rose garden, Detail, around 1922, Katharine Whild
Max Liebermann, The granddaughter in a pushchair to the right, 1918, Oil on canvas, Max-Liebermann-Gesellschaft, Photo: Oliver Ziebe
Käthe Liebermann as a young woman, after 1906, Private Collection
Max Liebermann, Reading woman (Martha Liebermann), around 1888, Ink on paper, Max-Liebermann-Gesellschaft
Max Liebermann, View of the Wannsee garden to the east, 1921, Oil on canvas, Permanent loan, Collection Jöns Lahmann, Photo: Oliver Ziebe
Max Liebermann, Granddaughter and nanny playing in the garden, 1929, Andreas B. Heilig, Kunsthandel, Frankfurt am Main

Media Partner

Realisation

Curators: Dr. Lucy Wasensteiner, Viktoria Bernadette Krieger
Deputyship Press, Communication, Marketing: Elisa Plitt, Viktoria Bernadette Krieger
Trainee Curator: Oleksandra Sakorska
Exhibition graphics: Ta-Trung GmbH, Berlin
Conservation: Grit Jehmlich, Oliver Max Wenske
Education & Visitor Service: Barbara Stursberg
Education Programm Family and Children: Laureline van  den Heuvel
Museum Shop & Online-Shop: Tino van Buuren
Fundraising & Cooperations: Franca Gelfort
House Technician: Andreas Wildgrube, Hans Josef Reifferscheid