When does the exhibition take place?

The exhibition Word Worlds|Image Worlds: The Grand Inquisitor will be on view on October 20, 2026 from 12 PM in the Villa Rosenthal Jena.

Where is the venue located?

The Villa Rosenthal Jena is located at Mälzerstraße 11, 07745 Jena.

What is the entrance fee?

Admission to the exhibition is free.

What works will be displayed?

Bettina Schünemann's 40-piece work series The Grand Inquisitor from 1990 after Fyodor Dostoevsky will be shown.

What artistic techniques does Bettina Schünemann use?

The work series combines paper, wallpaper, form prints, and newspaper with gouache, watercolor, wax crayon, and pencil.

Is the exhibition suitable for a literary interested observation of the works?

Yes, the exhibition connects Dostoevsky's literary reflection on freedom and authority with visual art, collage, and psychological portrait study.

The Grand Inquisitor: When literature speaks of freedom in compelling images

Name: Word Worlds|Image Worlds: The Grand Inquisitor
Start: 2026-10-20T12:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-10-20T15:00:00+02:00
Location: Villa Rosenthal Jena

Freedom or Authority? Bettina Schünemann's powerful visual interpretation of Dostoevsky

In the Villa Rosenthal Jena, literature and visual arts meet in the exhibition Word Worlds|Image Worlds: The Grand Inquisitor. Bettina Schünemann's 40-piece work series from 1990 translates Fyodor Dostoevsky's famous reflection on freedom, faith, and authority into a compelling visual form.

A literary conflict becomes an artistic experience

Dostoevsky's Grand Inquisitor embodies the paradoxical thought of a ruler who wants to save people from freedom because he doubts their ability for self-determination. The exhibition directly leads into this intellectual tension: freedom does not appear as an abstract concept, but as an existential challenge and social responsibility.

The head as a psychological study of power

Schünemann focuses exclusively on the depiction of the head in her work series. This radical reduction directs the observation of the work towards physiognomy, gaze, and inner state. The head becomes the stage for an authoritarian consciousness where control, doubt, and ideological claims grapple with each other.

Collage, Gouache, and Watercolor as visual language

The artist uses paper, wallpaper, forms, and newspaper as image carriers. Careful collages are combined with gouache and watercolor paints, wax crayons, and pencil. Different materials create a multi-layered surface where private feeling, social order, and media reality overlap.

Art historical and political resonance

The work series was created in 1990, thus overshadowed by the political upheavals of 1989 and 1990. Its imagery connects literary interpretation, figurative painting, and social analysis. The curation makes visible how a historical narrative transitions into a contemporary aesthetic experience and raises questions about faith, obedience, and power anew.

An exhibition for cultural education

Word Worlds|Image Worlds opens access to Dostoevsky's world of thought through the sensual experience of color, paper, and form. Even without in-depth prior knowledge, the exhibition invites visitors to discover the connection between literature, art history, and political present on their own. The Villa Rosenthal creates a concentrated space for encounters and quiet reflection.

Conclusion: Literature becomes visible

Visitors can expect a compelling artistic experience between painting, collage, and literary image interpretation. Bettina Schünemann's work series makes the questions of freedom and authority physically and visually tangible. Those who understand art as a form of societal thought and exhibition atmosphere as a space for aesthetic experience should definitely visit this presentation live at the Villa Rosenthal Jena.