Monumental world theatre

Panorama Museum in Bad Frankenhausen

Werner Tübke was commissioned by the East German state to paint a monumental panorama of the Peasants’ War. But he demanded artistic freedom and created a masterpiece rich in allusions. Thuringia is commemorating the events of 1525 with a regional exhibition that is being staged across two venues, one of which is the Panorama Museum in Bad Frankenhausen.

Silke Krage explains what happens when people see the panorama painting for the first time: “Everyone really does stop in their tracks when they enter the room, perhaps exclaiming ‘Oh!’ or ‘That’s unbelievable’ - and falling silent. Most of them then turn a full 360 degrees and look for a quiet place to process the powerful impressions before them.” Silke Krage first came to the Panorama Museum as a student. She has been on familiar terms with Werner Tübke’s painting of the Peasants’ War Battle of 1525 for 36 years. And it has never lost its power for her. Now the head of museum management, she has joined forces with museum director Gerd Lindner and the museum team to organise the regional exhibition ‘Der Welt Lauf’ (‘Sleeping Justice’). Running from 11 May to 17 August 2025, it will display the art history sources that the Leipzig artist used to bring his view of the 16th century world to the canvas – in the form of a circular painting an incredible 14 metres high and 123 metres long.

Special exhibition ‘Der Welt Lauf’ at the Panorama Museum

State exhibition 2025: freiheyt 1525 - 500 years of the Peasants' War

To the information

A museum - for just one painting

The story of the painting begins in the 1970s, when the East German state went in search of an artist to create a monumental panorama in Bad Frankenhausen dedicated to the German Peasants’ War and Thomas Müntzer. The new building for the planned memorial stood on the site where the decisive battle with the peasant leader Müntzer took place. Painters from the Leipzig School were approached, but most of them declined. Not least because they were reluctant to commit to the years of work that would be involved. Only Werner Tübke asked for time to think the offer over. And even though he demanded artistic freedom in the negotiations, he was still awarded the commission. Tübke initially created a 1:10 scale version, which was mounted at an exhibition in Dresden in 1982.

Before setting to work, the artist had approached the subject primarily from an art history perspective, sifting through old flyers and texts. “Werner Tübke works very freely with historical sources,” says Silke Krage. “He takes figures and puts them in a new context.” In the painting, we come across many seemingly familiar scenes - such references form part of the concept. The ‘Sleeping Justice’ exhibition focuses mainly on prints from the 16th century put in the context of the panorama. It is the first part of Thuringia’s regional exhibition on the Peasants’ War. The second part takes place in Mühlhausen, which was not only the scene of a turning point in the uprising, but also the final place where radical reformer Thomas Müntzer was active.

Werner Tübke and his masterpiece

“A globe with a deep crack running through it,” is how Werner Tübke described his panorama, in which there are some 3,000 figures and 75 scenes to discover - in other words, a lot! A fish carrying a man in its belly. The Tower of Babel. Luther, Cranach and other familiar faces from the dawn of the modern age. A huge, chaotic battle with many subplots that blur towards the horizon.

The painter worked on the monumental picture for twelve years, so it was only natural that his own moods and experiences would influence it from time to time. In the early 1980s, the contours of the previous 1:10 version were traced, enlarged and transferred to the new canvas. “You can imagine it starting out looking something like a 1,722 square metre colouring book,” says Silke Krage. In the photo showing Werner Tübke in a painter’s smock in front of the execution scene, you can still make out these empty spaces at the top and bottom. And how large the figures in the lower third of the picture are. This is where Tübke painted the key scenes, while other artists emulated his style on the scaffolding above - a true painter’s workshop just like in Cranach’s day. “This gigantic work took its toll on Werner Tübke,” says Silke Krage, who got to know the artist before his death. In 1986, Tübke worried that he would not be able to finish it. But his fears proved unfounded, and on 14 September 1989, shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the museum was opened.

Hope, freedom and justice

Several tonnes of oil paint were used for the panorama, and it took 54 men to attach the giant canvas to steel rings positioned at the top and bottom. The painting’s official title is ‘Early Bourgeois Revolution in Germany’. And yet it is so much more than that. It is a theatre of the world that addresses the fundamental themes of humanity - faith, love, suffering and lust, good and evil. Werner Tübke, who never interpreted his work, is said to have joked when looking at the empty surface: “It’s often annoyed me that I reach the edge too quickly when painting. Well, I don’t have to worry about that here!”

And the beholders of his opulent work can just keep on looking and looking and looking. They will always discover something new. Many people’s eyes are drawn to the rainbow, a symbol of hope and renewal. But this one has the colours the wrong way round. And next to it, inextricably intertwined bodies – most of them representatives of the authorities – are pulled into the depths in a maelstrom. Justitia, who has removed her blindfold, sits on the globe. She takes sides. The scales tilt towards a peasant crouching on the ground with the Bible on his back. The Roman goddess of justice draws her sword against a noble lady. Next to this, on the edge of the battle, flies the flag of freedom.

Rich and poor - while the powers that be dine

The scene with the people feasting at the opulently laid table is another highlight. A man of the church dines unashamedly, but prefers to have his back turned to the onlooker. Because he preaches water but drinks wine. What can no longer be seen in this section are the stooped, simply dressed peasants approaching the rich people who are filling their bellies. They are bringing the offerings of the tithe. The wealth of the privileged few is therefore only possible because others are exploited. The trumpeters at the top of the picture are an allusion to the Book of Revelation - they herald Judgement Day. Werner Tübke’s masterpiece is a virtuoso blend of biblical scenes, actual historical events and medieval and modern art references. It takes visitors on a journey through European cultural history and to the depths of human existence and coexistence.

500 years ago, the peasants in what is today Germany demanded equal rights for all but ultimately failed. But what about freedom and justice today? Why are there still so many wars? And how can we finally make our own future more peaceful?

Events in the Panorama Museum

Visit the website

Text: Christiane Würtenberger is deputy editor-in-chief and head of copywriting at CMR Cross Media Redaktion GmbH
Header picture: Florian Trykowski is a freelance advertising photographer and licensed drone pilot. In addition to his work as a concert and band photographer, he specialises in tourism.