Malkasten

In August of that year, the Verein für demokratische Monarchie [de] held an event called the "Fest der Deutschen Einheit" (Festival for German Unity).

On the night of the celebration, they decided to establish an artist's association which, a few days later, they named "Malkasten", at the suggestion of Karl Hübner.

The 112 founding members included not only academic professors, such as Theodor Hildebrandt, Heinrich Mücke and Karl Ferdinand Sohn, but also Lorenz Clasen, the editor of the satirical journal Düsseldorfer Monathefte [de], as well as many members of the Malerschule; including Johann Peter Hasenclever, Joseph Fay, Johann Wilhelm Preyer, Peter Schwingen and the German-born American painter, Emanuel Leutze, who played a key role in developing an art community that was independent of the academies.

The public at large was able to participate in some of the group's activities, through events such as a masked ball and carnival, known as the Malkasten-Redoute, which was celebrated every year until 1938.

In 1856, a group of members associated with Leutze and Hermann Becker, called for a "first gathering" of German visual artists in Bingen am Rhein.

The artists provided oil paintings (in gilded frames), watercolors, lithographs, prints and photographs, as well as a marble statue; with a total value of 46,000 Thalers.

The garden pond was decorated with a statue modeled after the "Venus de Milo", made of the metal from melted paint tubes.

[5] In September 1877, Emperor Wilhelm I was the guest of honor for the presentation of several tableaux vivants; one of which depicted General Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, crossing the Rhine near Kaub, with Prussian and Russian forces, thereby initiating the campaign in north-east France (1814).

The event made such an impression on the public officials of Düsseldorf that a mural of it was painted in the meeting room of the new Town Hall [de] in 1894.

Together with the Militant League for German Culture, they celebrated the "Nationale Erhebung" (National Uprising) and planted a "Hitler Oak [de]" dedicated to "Our Savior in Dire Straits" The membership structure itself remained unchanged until 1939, following the outbreak of World War II.

The association's board organizes ongoing exhibitions, artist talks, concerts, film screenings, lectures and other cultural events in the buildings and in the park.