Gipsformerei, Plaster cast workshop and museum in Charlottenburg, Germany
The Gipsformerei is a plaster cast workshop and museum in Berlin that creates and displays replicas of sculptures and reliefs using traditional techniques. Within a brick building complex, specialized craftspeople work with thousands of molds to produce copies of artworks.
The workshop was founded between 1889 and 1890 as part of Berlin's state museums system. It emerged during a period of great interest in art replication and has maintained its craft methods ever since.
The workshop preserves cast replicas of artworks from many cultures, ranging from ancient Egyptian reliefs to Baroque sculptures. Visitors can see how different historical art styles come alive through the craftspeople's work here.
You can visit the workshop to watch the craftspeople at work and purchase cast pieces from the collection. It is best to check in advance which areas are open to visitors and how much time you should allow for a visit.
Among the most remarkable molds is a cast of an Aztec sun disc, a rare replica of an artwork that few originals survive of today. Such pieces show how valuable this workshop is for documenting artworks from lost or distant cultures.
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