Gipsformerei der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin

Profile of the Gipsformerei

The Staatliche Museen’s Gipsformerei (Replica Workshop) is the largest institution of its kind in the world. High-quality art replicas of works mainly from the collections of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, but also from other European museums, have been produced here for 200 years. As a producer of sculpture replicas, the Gipsformerei faithfully upholds tradition in creating unique artworks using time-honoured production methods that demand a fund of expertise and extraordinarily delicate work executed by hand.

Nearly 7000 casts made from original works of art dating from all periods and from all cultures of the world are brought together in the collection of this institution which looks back on a long and illustrious past. Besides replicas of works from European and Egyptian art periods, the workshop also offers objects from Central and South America, Asia and Africa. The oldest replicated artefact is the 25,000-year-old Venus of Willendorf, while the largest is the 42-metre-high Column of Marcus Aurelius from Rome. We are unique in that, in selecting a work, interested purchasers can choose from our entire collection of moulds, hundreds of which are themselves centuries old.

References for replica collections

Complete replica collections can be useful when it comes to introducing a younger generation to the full spectrum of the history of sculpture. In particular, universities all over Germany use replicas from the Gipsformerei to allow their students to study old masters, not only from books, but also in actuality. In Greece and Switzerland, too, there are replica collections which are used for academic and research purposes.