With the exhibition “Photography Tells Sculpture”, the Bode Museum places the dialogue between its renowned sculpture collection and the museum’s little-known photographic archive at center stage for the first time. Bringing together original works and their photographic reproductions, the exhibition offers fresh perspectives on both media and reveals how photography has shaped our perception of sculpture since the early twentieth century. It invites visitors to explore the aesthetic and art-historical relationship between the three-dimensional artwork and its two-dimensional image in an entirely new way.

Around sixty historical and contemporary photographs are presented alongside sculptures dating from the eleventh to the seventeenth century. The exhibition reveals how light, perspective, and framing can transform the appearance of sculptural works, highlight specific details, and generate new interpretations. It also examines the role of the subjective photographic gaze and the art-historical conventions that continue to influence our understanding of sculpture today.

Across nine thematic chapters, visitors are invited to rediscover the relationship between the three-dimensional artwork and its two-dimensional representation. Photography Tells Sculpture demonstrates that photographs are far more than simple records—they are independent interpretations that shape our cultural memory and profoundly influence the way we experience and understand art.

The accompanying publication “Photography Tells Sculpture” published by the Sculpture Collection and Museum of Byzantine Art of the National Museums in Berlin is available at the Bode Museum and the Museum Shops of the National Museums Berlin.

A special exhibition by the Sculpture Collection and Museum of Byzantine Art of the National Museums in Berlin.

Wednesday, July 15, 2026, 5:30 pm
Opening Reception

All accompanying events will be held in German – please visit our partner site PiB – Photography in Berlin for further details.