Prinzhorn Collection
German collection of art by mental patients
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Prinzhorn Collection is a German collection of art made by mental health patients, housed at the Heidelberg University Hospital.[1] The collection comprises over 20,000 works, including works by Emma Hauck, Agnes Richter and August Natterer.[1][2][3]
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| Location | Germany |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 49°24′35″N 8°41′19″E |
| Website | prinzhorn |
  Location of Prinzhorn Collection | |
History
The collection was founded by the psychiatrist Karl Wilmanns and his assistant, doctor Hans Prinzhorn, in the early 1920s.[1][4] Between 1919 and 1921, the pair visited mental hospitals across Germany, initially collecting over 5000 works.[4][5][2] As of 2016, the collection held over 20,000 works.[5] Prinzhorn, a physician and art historian, was engaged by the hospital in 1919 specifically to improve and expand the collection.[6]
Works from the collection were included in Entartete Kunst, the famous 1937 Nazi exhibition of 'degenerate' art.[6] Following the war, the collection, largely neglected, was stored in the attic of the hospital.[6] In 1973, a conservation effort was undertaken that led to the restoration and cataloguing of the collection.[6]
The collection was influential on the practice of the artist Jean Dubuffet, who visited it in 1950.[7] Writing to Henri Matisse, Dubuffet described it as "something I have dreamt of for years."[8]
In 2001, the collection was opened to the public at the Sammlung Prinzhorn Museum.[9]
