Designed by Peter Zumthor in collaboration with Rainer Weitschies, Kolumba the Art Museum of the Archbishopric of Cologne is another must-see museum for visitors to the city. The building, which has developed in smooth transition from the remains of the late-Gothic ruins of St Kolumba, includes a suite of elegant spaces, many flooded with natural light, that are used for exhibitions combining religious artefacts with contemporary art across a range of media.
The current exhibition, Bequest, documents the traces of human existence that have been recorded in documents, everyday objects and in works of art. At the same time the exhibition makes a theme of the value of remembrance and our responsibility in dealing with our historical legacy. This is illustrated in one of the most striking displays in the exhibition that combines Jannis Kounellis' Tragedia civile (Civil tragedy) with wedding photographs of the 19th and 20th century and two 15th century Copes.
Images: Jannis Kounellis, Tragedia civile (1975), gold-leaf wall, coat-stand, hat,coat, oil lamp; 189 Wedding Photographs of the 19th and 20th century; and Two Copes, 15th century flat stitch embroidery on a gold ground, original blue velvet from Genoa with pomegranate pattern
