Extravagantly Newton

The Helmut Newton Foundation presents a Larger-than-Life Collection at the Museum for Photography

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Helmut Newton SUMO, published in 1999 by Benedikt Taschen and presented by the Helmut Newton Foundation, is not exactly a coffee-table photography book. Rather it is a photography book with its own coffee-table.

Newton and Taschen with one of the first copies of  SUMMO in the courtyard of the publishing house, 1999.  Photo by ⓒ Alice Springs

The gigantic 464-page book weighs 66 pounds and needs a custom-made metal holder, designed for SUMO at a cost of $15,000 by Phillip Starcke. Taschen originally introduced the book as a limited edition of 10,000, signed by Newton, but this September a more handy edition will appear on bookshelves for those who could not afford the stand.

To mark the tenth anniversary of SUMO, all its 394 photographs are on display for the first time at Berlin's Museum of Photography. The pictures in the book appear as framed pages: the fashion photography for Vogue, the nudes, portraits and advertisements.  All the classic Newtons are here: the striking Big Nudes; the domestic nudes; the celebrity portraits: Elizabeth Taylor half-submerged in a swimming pool, a resplendent greeen parrot perched on one finger;  Versace unclothed;  Charlotte Rampling sinuously draped on a baroque dining table.

Charlotte Rampling. Photo by ⓒ Helmut Newton Estate

Newton's photographs read like a thriller. They are set in basements, empty streets, anonymous lobbies or palatial European interiors. His beautiful women wear treacherous stiletto heels, cruel steel leg braces, handcuffs, or transparent trench coats, and there is mysterious, psycho-sexual sinister drama behind each shot.

Villa d'Este

Photo by ⓒ  Helmut Newton Estate

Arranged in three halls in the imposing interior of the Museum of Photography (once the casino for the Landwehr officers), the extravagant sweep of the exhibition reminds us how many iconic photographic images Newton produced in his lifetime.

Parallel to the main exhibition is the smaller "Three Boys from Pasadena," featuring Mark Arbeit, George Holtz and Just Loomis. All three were students at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California in the 1970s and later became Newton's assistants.

Don't miss the excellent documentary film in the video room on the making of Helmut Newton SUMO .

Helmut Newton SUMO runs till 31 January 2010 at the Museum for Photography, Jebensstraße 2, 10623 Berlin. Take public transportation to U Zoologischer Garten, then take the Jebensstraße exit from the station. The museum is open every day, except Monday, from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. and tickets cost 8 EUR (reduced cost: 4 EUR).

"To the Green Forest": the Jagdschloss Grunewald

Copyright Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg.

Berlin's oldest palace, the Renaissance-era royal hunting lodge known as the Jagdschloss Grunewald, opened  on May 28 after almost three years of renovation.

The Jagdschloss has opened with an art exhibition called "Von Angesicht zu Angesicht," featuring 300 years of Berlin portrait painting (17th-19th c). This returns the building to its 1932 role, when art historian Georg Poensgen first transformed the royal quarters into exhibition space for Berlin portrait art and paintings by Old German and Dutch Masters.

The paintings are mostly unremarkable, and not till the Lucas Cranach paintings that belong here return in 2011 (beginning October, they are showing at Schloss Charlottenburg in an exhibition called "Cranach and the Art of the Renaissance under the Hohenzollerns) will there be an art lover's reason to visit.

For now, a better reason to visit the Jagdschloss -- and it is well worth a visit --  is for its setting and interiors, both a part of Berlin's architectural and archaeological history.

Getting There

The path through the Grunewald forest to the Jagdschloss must be one of the loveliest approaches to a museum. The ground is soft underfoot, tree branches rustle overhead and the only people you will meet are walkers, joggers and dog owners. 

If you want to savor a bit of history as well, you will breathe deep and revel in treading ground that was once the hunting environs of the Hohenzollern royalty. In 1542, when Prince Joachim II  had the palace built,  he called it simply "Zum Gruenen Walde" or (in a clumsy translation) "to the green forest."

In summer the deep green foliage keeps the palace from sight till you actually get there. It has a modest exterior, this white and brick-red building on the side of the placid Grunewald lake. But for Berliners,  it has a special significance. Over 460 years old, it is the only remaining Renaissance-era palace in the city since the the Berliner Schloss was destroyed in 1950. 

There's History in these Rooms

In 1973, construction work in the Große Hofstube (Great Hall) revealed painted wooden ceilings behind the Baroque moldings, and 15th c. arches which had been walled in by Baroque-era architects. Thanks to archaeological reconstruction, the beautiful Renaissance wooden ceilings and arches are now back in view. 

In other interior rooms, the baroque moldings from the time of King Friedrich I (1705-06) have been retained. And in the exhibition rooms you sense the spirit of the 1930s: the clean functionality of white walls and oxblood red hardwood floors. The fresh blue of the lake visible through large windows on each floor pervades the atmosphere of these interiors.

Sunset over Berlin: The Lake Terrace

What a pity that the viewer is denied access to the neo-baroque lake terrace, which once led directly from the castle, and which has also been handsomely restored. The reason? Dogs, says the guard on duty. We had to cordon it off to keep the dogs from using it as a diving board.

The lake terrace in summer is an ideal spot to enjoy the natural beauty of the Grunewald. "Here you can experience the most beautiful sunset over Berlin," rhapsodizes Hartmut Dorgerloh, General Director of the Palace Foundation, and I believe him. The terrace is open for a glass of wine after special events, but how about making it available for ticket holders to the museum? 

Jagdschloss Grunewald is at Hüttenweg 100, 14193 Berlin.

The Jagdschloss is open every day (except Monday) from May to October,  from 10 am to 6 pm, and from November to April on Saturday, Sundays and holidays from 10 am to 4 pm. 

The exhibition "Von Angesicht zu Angesicht runs from 28.05.09 to 31.10.10.

Reaching there:

By car: To Hüttenweg up to the parking lot for Forsthaus Paulsborn, then walk about 400 m. 

By public transportation: U-Bahn Dahlem Dorf or S-Bahn Zehlendorf, then with Bus X83 to the corner of Clayallee/Königin Luise Strasse, then a 10 minute walk through the Grunewald.

A green trail for those who prefer to hike: From U-Bahn Podbielski Allee, take Im Dol to Messel Park, cut through Messel Park till Pücklerstr. Take a left and keep straight till you enter the Grunewald. Follow signs to Jagdschloss (about 30 min).

For more information: www.spsg.de