Armin Mueller-Stahl: Lest we Forget
The great internationally famous German actor Armin Mueller-Stahl is an equally gifted musician, painter and author. He has also witnessed the abysmally terrible yet also promising 20th century, and is an eloquent eyewitness of the 21st century, now already two decades old. Above all, however, Armin Mueller-Stahl is an exceptional artist. In the past two years, he has created over 100 portraits of Jewish personalities for his cycle 'Jewish Friends. Fates, Companions, Portraits'. The nuanced portrayal of human faces represents an attempt to trace their hidden qualities, and also their memorable and moving biographies in order to passionately prevent them from being forgotten. They also provide insights into Armin Mueller-Stahl's eventful, great life.
A selection of around 30 portraits will be on show in the Neuhardenberg Castle orangery, including that of Walther Rathenau, the defender of the Weimar Republic, who took a last stand against the enemies of democracy as its foreign minister. His home and refuge was located not far from Neuhardenberg, in Bad Freienwalde. This great democrat was murdered by right-wing extremists 100 years ago. In the 20th year of its existence, it is particularly important to the Stiftung Schloss Neuhardenberg foundation to commemorate this great democrat, especially in these times of new and increasingly stronger threats to democracy, and to pay homage to Armin Mueller-Stahl.
