Berlin - Bode-Museum

The Bode Museum (formerly called "Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum), is a building on the Museum Island. It was built from 1898 to 1904 by order of German Emperor William II according to plans by Ernst von Ihne in Baroque Revival style.

During WWII the building suffered comparatively the least damage on Museum Island, but it was not until 1951 that it received a temporary roof. After the end of the war, the new Berlin city administration had all references to former rulers removed and in 1956, Johannes R. Becher, then Minister of Culture of the GDR, ceremoniously renamed the Kaiser Friedrich Museum the Bode Museum.

As part of the Museum Island complex, the Bode-Museum was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999.

Madonna as Seat of Wisdom - "Sedes Sapientiae"

The Madonna comes from the former Camaldolese monastery Borgo San Sepolcro near Arezzo.

The tautness of the figures, developed more from their outline than from their physical shape, the strict frontality and the strongly geometric pleating of the robes based on Byzantine models, together with the original setting, create a harshly solemn expression.

Two small lions carry the Madonna's footrest. They are an allusion to Solomon's throne surrounded by lions, the ‘seat of wisdom’, which the Madonna now functions as for Solomon of the New Covenant.

The inscription on the base of the sculpture provides information about this function, as well as about the artist - Presbyter Martinus -, the client - Abbot Peter - and the year - 1199 - of creation.

Presbyter Martinus / Italy / 1199