Willy Maywald

The artists at home – Les artistes chez eux

1 August 2024–2 February 2025

The cabinet exhibition Willy Maywald. Die Künstler daheim - Les Artistes chez eux delves into the fascinating work of the renowned fashion photographer Willy Maywald. The Museum Schloss Moyland collection contains 63 photographs by Willy Maywald, which the van der Grinten brothers acquired from 1960 onwards. Of these, 22 works are now on display in the North Tower Cabinet on the 2nd floor. The show is the prelude to the Alice Springs retrospective, which will open at Museum Schloss Moyland on 15 September 2024. The combination of the two themes offers visitors the opportunity to compare two different approaches to fashion and portrait photography. 

Maywald was born in Kleve in 1907 and grew up in the well-known Hotel Maywald, which his family owned in Kleve. He was a famous fashion photographer in Paris and worked for magazines such as Vogue and fashion icons such as Christian Dior and Jacques Fath. In the French metropolis, Maywald gained access to influential artists such as Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Fernand Léger and Juliette Greco, whom he captured in impressive portraits. The exhibition offers an insight into the photographer's world of thought and visitors can get to know the artists portrayed in a personal, very individual way. In addition to Willy Maywald's photographs, which are in the collection of the Museum Schloss Moyland Foundation, the exhibition also features works on loan from the Museum Kurhaus Kleve

Curated by Momo Giesen