RESTITUTION

Choreography by Kauan Soares on a video screen

Heinrich Wendel's "Planetenmeditationen", Theatermuseum Düsseldorf ©CGM

Heinrich Wendel's "Planetenmeditationen", Theatermuseum Düsseldorf ©CGM

Stage designer, painter, photographer and cave explorer!

Heinrich Wendel, born on March 9, 1915, in Bremen and died in May 1980 in Düsseldorf, was a German stage designer, painter, photographer, and cave explorer whose work was characterized by spirituality and scientific curiosity. He completed his training in Bremen, Berlin, and Hamburg. During the Second World War, he worked as a stage designer in Wuppertal and Nuremberg, but temporarily withdrew to Lorch and Stuttgart, where he built his own observatories. In 1945, he became head of set design at the Württemberg State Theater.

From 1953 to 1964, he worked at the Wuppertal Theater, where he introduced new techniques such as photography and projections. From 1964 until his death, he was head of set design at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, where he worked closely with choreographer Erich Walter, his life partner. In the 1960s and 1970s, he traveled to France and Spain to photograph prehistoric cave paintings, leaving behind some 3,000 photos that are now kept at the Neanderthal Museum.

Rudolf Steiner's influence on Wendel

Through his private tutor, Wendel became acquainted with Rudolf Steiner's anthroposophy in the late 1920s. Steiner's teachings on science, art, and spirituality are likely to be the background to Wendel's cosmic approach in his art. Wendel's series of paintings “Planetary Meditations” depicts planets as spiritual forces linked to human development. In his lectures (e.g., “The Nature of the Planets,” 1917), Steiner described planets as carriers of cosmic energy representing virtues such as wisdom or love. He described the search for God as distinct from dogmatic religion. Steiner also speculated about spiritual beings on other planets that may have influenced human evolution. These ideas are reflected in Wendel's stage designs, for example for “The Planets” (Vienna State Opera, 1961).

Heinrich Wendel's "Planetenmeditationen", Theatermuseum Düsseldorf ©CGM

Retreat during World War II and observatory construction

During World War II, Wendel retreated to Lorch and Stuttgart, where he built observatories. The exact reasons for this are not documented. It is possible that Wendel sought refuge from the turmoil of war in astronomy and sought spiritual answers. Observatories also enabled him to study planetary orbits, which presumably influenced his later paintings and stage designs.

Cave paintings and Wendel's photographs

Between 1964 and 1970, Wendel traveled to the Franco-Cantabrian region to photograph prehistoric cave paintings from the Paleolithic period (35,000–12,000 years ago). Like a scientist and at the same time with the eye of an artist, he documented around 3,000 photos from over 50 caves in France and Spain. This collection is now kept at the Neanderthal Museum in Mettmann, not far from Düsseldorf. It is said to be invaluable, as most of the caves are not open to the public. Wendel also described cave paintings as an inspiration for his stage designs. A selection of the photos was published in a calendar.

Milestones in Wendel's work

Between 1945 and 1947, he created the “Planetary Meditations,” which reflect his post-war processing and Steiner's influence. From 1953 to 1964, he renewed stage art in Wuppertal through the use of photography and projections, for example in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea (1965). In 1961, he designed the stage sets for “The Planets” at the Vienna State Opera, inspired by Holst's music. From 1964 onwards, he worked at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, where he collaborated with Erich Walter on ballet and opera productions such as Zimmermann's Die Soldaten (1971), Moses und Aaron, and Tod in Venedig.

Heinrich Wendel's "Planetenmeditationen" and exhibition displays in the Theatermuseum Düsseldorf ©CGM

How did the estate end up in the Pink Palace?

The Theatermuseum is a small museum in the middle of the Hofgarten, a public park in the heart of the state capital Düsseldorf. In recent years, it has been turned into a kind of center for the queer art scene, and also shows exhibitions dealing with the city's history, and in a recent exhibition even with the most diverse facets of Düsseldorf's carnival. The Theatermuseum is also responsible for archiving Düsseldorf's opera and ballet history. Thanks to its pink exterior, the palace-like building has become known as the “Pink Palace” to the creators of this new concept in the city.

Wendel's estate was bequeathed to the Theatermuseum Düsseldorf by his partner Erich Walter. It includes stage and projection models, costume designs, lectures, rehearsal photos, program booklets, theater reviews, and the “Planet Meditations.” The estate is regularly presented in exhibitions, such as the current one in 2025 to mark Wendel's 100th birthday. Wendels' stage design and projection models, accessible via the Theatermuseum's online collection (https://emuseum.duesseldorf.de/collections/79422/wendel_modelle-open-data/objects), are impressive examples of this innovative stage art. The models are technically extremely precise and seem to combine mathematics with spiritual aesthetics, making them precursors of modern stage design techniques. In the exhibition, they complement the “Planetary Meditations” in display cases.

On the big stage? Wendel and Kauan Soares

Heinrich Wendel's “Planetary Meditations” were created decades before similar visualizations in ‘Dune’ and “Interstellar,” yet they transport the viewer into precisely these worlds. However, it is the divine and spiritual elements that make Wendel's works unique. Who knows whether Hollywood was inspired by Wendel's Planetary Meditations. 

Kauan Soares' dance video “Cosmos” translates Wendel's paintings into movement and features five dancers from the Ballett am Rhein dancing to music by Gustav Holst and Caroline Shaw. Those who are captivated by the heavy paintings find their way back to reality through Soares' performance—a successful combination devised by the Theatermuseum. Who knows whether there will ever be a live performance of Soares' choreography on the big stage in front of Wendel's paintings

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Heinrich Wendel's "Planetenmeditationen", Theatermuseum Düsseldorf ©CGM

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