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ERGO is a partner of the exhibition “Monet – Cézanne – Matisse”
The Scharf Collection" at Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf
The insurance company is supporting the exhibition, which will be on display at the museum from 12 March to 9 August 2026.
ERGO curator Tine Bay Lührssen with the portrait of Otto Gerstenberg, ready to be shipped for the exhibition.
The private collection goes back to Otto Gerstenberg, former General Director of Victoria Versicherung, now ERGO. ERGO is contributing an extraordinary loan to the exhibition with this portrait painted by Max Liebermann from its corporate collection.
The exhibition shows 180 works from one of the most important German private collections. It is being presented to the public for only the second time. Previously, it was shown to great acclaim at the Alte Nationalgalerie on Berlin's Museum Island.
We are delighted that this exhibition is coming to us in Düsseldorf. It originated in the collection of Otto Gerstenberg and is therefore of particular importance to our company and our employees.
Otto Gerstenberg (1848 – 1935) joined Victoria Versicherung in Berlin as a mathematician in 1873. In 1888 he was appointed to the company's Board of Directors, and in 1901 he was given the title of General Director. Otto Gerstenberg retired in 1912 and subsequently served as Chairman of the Supervisory Board until 1931. In insurance history, he is regarded as the inventor of “life insurance for everyone”. These innovative insurance products were the first to offer insurance cover to low- and very low-income earners at the turn of the century. In 1919, the Berlin painter Max Liebermann (1847 – 1935), a representative of Impressionism and President of the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin from 1920 to 1933, painted the portrait.
We are proud that this special painting is part of our corporate collection and that we are able to contribute it to this unique exhibition.
ERGO’s corporate collection comprises around 3,700 exhibits and is considered one of the leading corporate art collections in Germany. ERGO contributed to the Gerhard Richter exhibition at Kunstpalast in 2024, among other works, with the large Gerhard Richter paintings VICTORIA I and VICTORIA II from the company headquarters, located in the immediate vicinity of the museum.
ERGO and Kunstpalast are linked by a long-standing partnership with a special focus on digitalization. Together with the museum, they developed the Kunstpalast app, which has now been downloaded by more than 50,000 art enthusiasts. It allows users to experience artworks in a multimedia and interactive way, for example through digital museum tours. A digital tour of “The Scharf Collection” is also part of the current commitment and is available to visitors free of charge during the first two months of the exhibition.
For ERGO employees, admission to the exhibition is free of charge. In addition, ERGO invited 20 primary school pupils from the neighboring Matthias-Claudius School to an exclusive preview of the exhibition.
The portrait of Otto Gerstenberg by Max Liebermann is one of the press images provided by Museum Kunstpalast.
ERGO is one of the leading international insurance groups and operates in over 20 countries worldwide. The Company offers its retail and corporate customers a broad product portfolio in all the main classes of insurance as well as comprehensive assistance and other services. Three units operate under the umbrella of ERGO Group AG: ERGO Deutschland AG, ERGO International AG and ERGO Technology & Services Management AG. The German and international businesses as well as the global management of IT and technology services are organized in these units. About 37,000 people work either as salaried employees or self-employed sales representatives for the Group. In the 2024 financial year, ERGO generated insurance revenue of 20.8 billion euros and a net result of 810 million euros. ERGO is part of Munich Re, one of the world's leading reinsurers and risk carriers. More at www.ergo.com
This media information contains forward-looking statements that are based on current assumptions and forecasts of the management of ERGO Group. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the forward-looking statements given here and the actual development, in particular the results, financial situation and performance of our Company. The Company assumes no liability to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.
