The Peasants' War 500 years ago was the largest popular uprising before the French Revolution. Its manifesto, the Twelve Articles of the Peasantry, written in Memmingen in March 1525, is the first written document in the history of Europe, after the Magna Carta, to be based on ideas of human rights and freedom.
HAP Grieshaber (1909 - 1981), who saw himself closely connected to the peasant uprising through his origins and concerns, saw himself as a 'homme engagé'. Fifty years ago, he was therefore annoyed by the lack of interest in the Federal Republic of Germany in the anniversary of the Peasants' War, which became an artistic act with the "Peasants' War Angel" and the portfolio Dran dran, weil ir tag habt.
Grieshaber's view of the Peasants' War is not a look back. The aim is to keep the peasant uprising's demands for justice and equality, which have still not been fully realized, alive and relevant. In the exhibition, Grieshaber's works will be shown in the contemporary context of Bernhard Heisig, Alfred Hrdlicka, Käthe Kollwitz, Gérard Krimmel and Werner Tübke. In addition, parts of the large 'documenta wall' will be on public display in Reutlingen for the first time in over sixty years.
