Art in still life: premiere of the still life in Lübeck!

Art in still life: premiere of the still life in Lübeck!

Lübeck, Deutschland - On June 20, 2025, the Theater Lübeck celebrated an impressive premiere of the play “Das Stillleben” by Caren Jeß. Under the direction of Lisa Froschauer, the actors Lilly Gropper and Johannes Merz developed a captivating examination of Biedermeier painting and the social tendency to retreat to private with a nameless extras. The staging, which has a runtime of 1 hour and 20 minutes without a break, impressively deals with the topics of neophobia and the fear of changes. Already in the first scene, the viewer is taken into the Biedermeier world of a living room in which a human protagonist ignores the changes in the outside world, which illustrates the central conflict of the play. Nachtkritik describes the implementation as original and appealing, and the harmony between Gropper and Merz is remarkable.

But what is Biedermeier? In the period between 1815 and 1848, this art and cultural movement not only experienced a retreat to private, but also a heyday of domestic life and cosiness. The term itself comes from the fictional poet Gottlieb Biedermaier, who appeared in the Munich magazine "Flying Leaf". This era, shaped by political stability under Klemens of Metternich, led to a focus on apolitical topics, which were often shown in idylls of country life and the family. So describes wikipedia that the Biedermeier period also produced significant poets and painters who have left a lasting impression with their works.

Biedermeier in context

The Biedermeier epoch is not only a cultural phenomenon, but also a historical period that has grown the political upheavals of the 19th century. This period was known for a conservative, but still lively culture, which was described in literature, as from Abipur , strongly on topics of everyday life and private sphere. The term Biedermeier is closely linked to the political restoration according to the Napoleonic wars, and in parallel to this movement, for example, the liberal democratic currents of the young Germany were created.

reviews of the piece clarify that the staging "The still life" not only captures the aesthetics of the Biedermeier period, but also addresses their conflicts and contradictions. Man in still lives contradicts the definition of a still life, which aims at a deeper metaphor for today's existence. The vision of the humanities scholar is increasingly placed, which is tired of the permanent intellectual discussion and wishes to become a piece of furniture. This illustrates the creeping withdrawal of the individual from changes and social challenges.

The piece is a successful approach to a remarkable era that still appears relevant even after more than a century. If you are interested in the interweaving of art, society and the individual fight against lingering in the friend, you should not miss the performance in the Theater Lübeck.