Berlin’s headline art
Galerie Max Hetzler opened William N. Copley’s solo “X‑Rated (1972–1974),” a show of paintings and works on paper running through April 22, 2026 (iconmagazineart.com). Meanwhile, “Mors Imperator,” the painting that shocked German society in 1887, has returned to a state museum in Berlin—offering a rare chance to see a once‑controversial work in public (theguardian.com).
Galerie Max Hetzler bills X‑Rated (1972–1974) as its fourth presentation of William N. Copley, noting the gallery represents the artist across its Berlin, Paris, London and Marfa spaces. (maxhetzler.com) The gallery press notes that the “X‑Rated” paintings were produced between 1972 and 1975 and that the series was first shown in an eponymous 1974 exhibition at the New York Cultural Center. (maxhetzler.com) Max Hetzler’s press release quotes Copley describing the project as an attempt to “break through the barrier of pornography into the area of joy,” and explains his working method of producing two stages of preparatory drawings before a final painting. (maxhetzler.com) The gallery published an exhibition poster featuring Copley’s Viridiana (1973) to accompany the Berlin presentation, with the poster offered through the gallery’s publications page at €15 unframed. (maxhetzler-publications.com) Hermione von Preuschen’s Mors Imperator (1887) is now the centerpiece of the Alte Nationalgalerie’s show “Scandal!,” where the museum lists the painting’s display dates as 22 March–15 November 2026. (smb.museum) The museum catalogue describes the work as a 19th‑century symbolist canvas showing a skeleton in an ermine cloak and iron crown, standing on a globe and knocking over a throne; the painting measures approximately 258 × 138 cm in surviving reproductions and museum records. (smb.museum) (european-traveler.com) Contemporary accounts and the Alte Nationalgalerie note that the Berlin Academy jury rejected the canvas in 1887 as a possible allusion to Emperor Wilhelm I, despite von Preuschen obtaining an official statement that the emperor had no objection, and that she subsequently exhibited the work publicly in rented rooms for an admission fee. (smb.museum)
