This gallery in the 19th-century former royal stables across from Schloss Charlottenburg showcases a complete survey of surrealist art, with large bodies of work by René Magritte and Max Ernst alongside dreamscapes by Dalí and Dubuffet. Standouts among their 18th-century forerunners include Goya's spooky etchings and the creepy dungeon scenes by Italian engraver Giovanni Battista Piranesi.
The collection was founded in the early 20th century by insurance mogul Otto Gerstenberg, a man with a Midas touch and a passion for the arts. Although much of it was destroyed in WWII or disappeared to Russia as war booty, his grandsons used the remainder as a starting point for their own collection, mostly of surrealist art. Regularly screened films by Buñuel, Dalí and contemporary directors show how the surrealist aesthetic was interpreted on screen.
