The House Cajeth is located in the heart of Heidelberg's Old Town.
The builder was the Electoral Palatine mint keeper Anton Cajeth in 1735. Here Egon Hassbecker founded a gallery & bookstore and museum for primitive painting - Outsider Art.
It shows paintings by people who did not claim to be artists, but who were driven by a strong need to express themselves in painting. They grew up in rural, artisan societies and worked hard all their lives. As they grew older, they began to paint with their self-invented means and have created - all on their own - unique images of unmistakable expression. These are pictures characterized by strong, significant form.
The collection includes numerous works by comparatively few artists. This concentration attests to the importance of the biographical in Egon Hassbecker's approach to art and artists. All works are testimonies to individual life stories.
It shows paintings by people who did not claim to be artists, but who were driven by a strong need to express themselves in painting. They grew up in rural, artisan societies and worked hard all their lives. As they grew older, they began to paint with their self-invented means and have created - all on their own - unique images of unmistakable expression. These are pictures characterized by strong, significant form.
The collection includes numerous works by comparatively few artists. This concentration attests to the importance of the biographical in Egon Hassbecker's approach to art and artists. All works are testimonies to individual life stories.