Popular Imagery

Since its opening in 2010, the Feld-Haus has invited art enthusiasts of all ages to discover the colourful and diverse world of popular printmaking: Oil prints of works by Old Masters such as Dürer, friendship and greeting cards, games, picture sheets, devotional prints of saints, fans, poetry albums, elaborately designed Viennese art cards and much more.

Between the 18th and 20th centuries, social, technical and commercial processes led to a mass dissemination of popular prints into all spheres of life and strata of the population. The typical style of many of these affordable paper products – often large-scale contoured areas of colour – inspired progressive artists, such as the Nabis, in the late 19th century. Not least for this reason, Dr. Irmgard Feldhaus, long-time director of the Clemens Sels Museum Neuss, developed a true passion for these exciting paper witnesses of time. The Feld-Haus collection, which today comprises more than 9,000 objects, is based on the generous donation of her important collection to the city of Neuss in 2006.

Around 300 exhibits from the original collection are presented in the permanent exhibition. In addition, a varied exhibition program illuminates the manifold facets of popular printmaking in ever new contexts of art and cultural history.