• Introduction

Theatre of Nature and Art. Treasure-trove of knowledge

Treasures in the university
The Humboldt University can boast a rare treasure, namely a number of unique collections preserved there. Over one hundred separate collections, some of which date from the sixteenth century, spanning all conceivable disciplines reflect the major role played by Berlin, the "city of knowledge", in the development of modern academic disciplines.

Marble gods in the basement
Yet even today many of these treasures languish in obscurity. In the past many of the collections were virtually inaccessible, particularly as they were scattered across the whole university and had sometimes even been forgotten. Who ever heard of the Sound Archive? Does anyone remember the long-vanished Museum of Oceanography? Other collections are now housed in the Museum of Natural Sciences or with the collections of the Botanical Garden, now under the aegis of the Free University. The whole spectrum of collections will be displayed in this exhibition for the first time, retrieving many lost treasures from dusty oblivion.

A whale taken for a water snake
The 1,200 or so spectacular and intriguing objects from all spheres of scientific study are not just historically significant but also visually striking. They bear witness to significant developments, great successes and monumental errors in the cultural history of knowledge. The exhibition casts its net wide and encompasses such diverse exhibits as bizarre specimens from Rudolf Virchow's Museum of Pathology to a gallery of portrait busts of scholars from Berlin, a horrifyingly realistic wax model of a plague bubo and a plaster cast of Paeonius' Nike. Not to mention the skeleton of an archaoecete, a primeval whale, which the Prussian king bought in the belief that it was a water snake and the skeleton of a "Long Fellow" from the Giant's Guard of the "Soldier King", Friederich Wilhelm I.

Rudolf Virchow in Troy
The history of scientific endeavour is shaped by great individuals. An incredible number of famous names have done research at this university in Berlin. Closer examination reveals that almost all of them did not confine their work to just one narrow discipline. Take for example pathologist Rudolf Virchow. Alongside his involvement in politics, he also found time to help Schliemann with the excavations in Troy. He and many other academics were great collectors and have thus left a legacy that testifies to their wide-ranging interests.

Botanist and poet rolled into one
Natural sciences, medicine and the fine arts - individual disciplines and subjects are becoming increasingly specialised. That makes it all the more important to remember that great achievements are born of symbioses. Imagine an anatomical bronze model without the hand of the artist that shaped it. And wouldn't it be fair to describe Wiedehopf or Grindwal's virtuoso watercolours from the folio collection, "Theatrum naturae", as scientific documents? Does anyone know that the famous poet, Adelbert von Chamisso, was a botanist by profession and curator of the Botanical Garden?

Theatre of nature and art
The diverse objects from a multitude of different areas reveal anew the connections linking various disciplines and research projects. As early as 1700, Gottfried Wilhem Leibniz referred to a "Theatrum naturae et artis" in this context. He felt that scientific and fine arts exhibits should be displayed side by side to highlight both foundation stones of culture, a vision that fits remarkably well with contemporary ideas.