On the wall of the Protestant deanery in Neustadt’s Schütt district, Gerhard Hofmann combines local history, the history of democracy and a highly graphic visual language. The large-scale mural stretches across several dozen metres and is executed in a limited palette. Its most distinctive feature is the use of portraits built up from dots and solid areas of colour, giving the work the appearance of an enlarged print.

The seven motifs include landmarks and historical figures connected with Neustadt and the Hambach Festival of 1832. Among them are the towers of the Collegiate Church, Hambach Castle shown in its historical form as a ruin, and the Casimirianum. The historical protagonists Philipp Jakob Siebenpfeiffer and Johann Georg August Wirth are depicted alongside Regina Wirth, who continued to distribute her husband’s writings after his arrest. The ensemble is completed by the reformer Zacharias Ursinus.

Hofmann, a freelance artist who has lived and worked in Neustadt since 1987, is particularly known for printmaking and colour etching. This background is also evident in the mural. The motifs were digitally planned and transferred to the wall using cut-out stencils, with countless dots, lines and painted areas applied by hand. The result deliberately resembles a monumental graphic print.

The project was created at the end of 2023 after the wall of the listed deanery had repeatedly been defaced. Sparkasse Rhein-Haardt contributed €3,000, with a further €3,000 provided by the city’s Foundation for Culture, Social Affairs and Sport. After completion, the mural was protected with an anti-graffiti coating. It was officially handed over on 9 January 2024.

The mural also continues Hofmann’s longstanding engagement with Neustadt and the Hambach Festival. His research into historical prints connected with the Hambach Festival demonstrates his broader interest in the visual culture and memory of the 1832 event.

Artworks in Neustadt an der Weinstraße