When does the exhibition take place in Jena?

The exhibition can be seen on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, from 1 PM in the Villa Rosenthal Jena.

What is the entrance fee?

Admission to the exhibition is free.

Where is the Villa Rosenthal located?

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

What are the opening hours for the exhibition area?

The exhibition area is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12 PM to 3 PM and on Wednesdays from 1 PM to 5 PM. On event days, the times may vary.

What techniques does Bettina Schünemann use?

The series combines paper, wallpapers, printed forms, and newspaper papers with gouache, watercolor, wax crayon, and pencil.

Are there guided tours or educational programs?

No specific tour or workshop dates have been published for this event.

The Grand Inquisitor: When Dostoevsky Becomes Compelling Images in Jena

Name: Word Worlds|Image Worlds: “The Grand Inquisitor”
Start: 2026-11-11T13:00:00+01:00
End: 2026-11-11T17:00:00+01:00
Location: Villa Rosenthal Jena

Freedom or Authority? Bettina Schünemann’s “The Grand Inquisitor” in Jena

In the Villa Rosenthal Jena, literature and fine art meet: The exhibition “Word Worlds|Image Worlds: The Grand Inquisitor” presents Bettina Schünemann's compelling series of images based on Fyodor Dostoevsky. At the center lies a question of unbroken political and social relevance: Is man capable of freedom, or does he seek security, order, and authority?

A Psychological Study of Power

Bettina Schünemann created the 40-sheet work series in 1990 as an early major work of her artistic creation. Dostoevsky’s literary figure of the Grand Inquisitor appears as an authoritarian church and faith keeper who doubts even human freedom. The exhibition translates this inner conflict into a concentrated visual language.

Collage, Gouache, and Watercolor as Traces of Thought

The artist focuses solely on the depiction of the head. Face, gaze, and physiognomy become the scene of moral ambivalence. As image carriers, Schünemann uses paper, wallpapers, printed forms, and newspaper papers. Careful collages are combined with gouache and watercolor paints, wax crayons, and pencils.

This materiality holds an essential appeal for the examination of the works: Overlaps, breaks, and different surfaces create a tension-rich aesthetics. Color and line function not merely illustratively, but condense the psychological dimension of the figure. The works appear as visual thought movements between religious promise, political power, and human need.

Literature Becomes an Aesthetic Experience

The exhibition shows how a literary template gains its own presence through painterly and graphic means. Dostoevsky's text forms the resonance space, Schünemann's series develops an independent artistic interpretation from it. The exhibition atmosphere of the monumentally rehabilitated Villa Rosenthal enhances this connection between history, literature, and visual art.

The art experience invites slow contemplation. The reduced heads, heterogeneous materials, and multi-layered surfaces open up a space for cultural education and personal reflection. Here, the question of freedom or authority is not limited to a historical narrative but leads directly into the political and social tensions of the present.

Art Exhibition in the Villa Rosenthal Jena

The Villa Rosenthal was inhabited in 1892 and reopened in 2009 after monument-compliant renovation. Today, it serves as a place for exhibitions, concerts, readings, and cultural encounters. The exhibition “The Grand Inquisitor” connects this historical site with a demanding engagement with power, faith, responsibility, and the conditions of human freedom.

Conclusion: An Exhibition Between Dostoevsky and the Present

Visitors can expect a concentrated series of works in which paper, color, traces of writing, and portrait merge into a compelling psychological study. Those who want to connect literature, art history, and social questions experience a lasting aesthetic experience in the Villa Rosenthal. A visit is especially worthwhile for those who do not just view art but understand it as an impetus for thought.