German art historian Michael Eissenhauer has added to his directorships as institutions explore collaborations and mergers. The General Director of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Berlin State Museums) is now also the director of Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie, Sculpture Collection, and Museum for Byzantine Art.The decision to appoint Eissenhauer, who has held the position as General Director since 2008, was made by the Foundation Board of the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, helmed by the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Monika Grütters. Eissenhauer follows Bernd Wolfgang Lindemann who had held the Gemäldegalerie position since 2004, adding the Sculpture Collection, Museum for Byzantine Art in 2007, and who retired on August 1.In a statement, Eissenhauer said he intended to “continue the process of bringing together these two significant [institutions] and to focus on further improving the presentation of their world famous collections of painting and sculpture.” One of his aims, according to the statement, is to establish a stronger connection between the two institutions’ locations at Kulturforum and on Berlin’s Museum Island. Furthermore, Eissenhauer plans to extend relationships with international institutions as well as the other collections of the Berlin State Museums.As of September 1, art historian Katja Kleinert will join Eissenhauer as the new curator for Flemish and Dutch Painting from the 17th century, a position previously also held by Lindemann. Kleinert played an important role in establishing the interdisciplinary The Rembrandt Research Database and is an expert in the work of Old Masters.
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