Due to space limitations, the Federal Chancellery is planning a comprehensive redesign of the Chancellor Gallery. According to a government spokesperson speaking to the “Spiegel” the Chancellery is currently considering implementing a “Petersburg arrangement”. However, these plans have not been finalized.
The Petersburg arrangement involves configuring portraits of varying sizes by placing them densely side-by-side and stacked on the wall. Currently, the gallery displays seven painted portraits of former chancellors, spanning from Konrad Adenauer (CDU) to Gerhard Schröder (SPD).
However, physical space constraints are evident, as only room for one additional painting of this size remains, next to the existing portrait of Schröder, painted by Jörg Immendorff. Two future portraits are anticipated: one of the former Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), and another of Olaf Scholz (SPD), who is due to step down in 2025.
The completion schedule for these upcoming portraits remains uncertain. The office of the former Chancellor Merkel stated that they would release information at a suitable time. Meanwhile, the office of former Chancellor Scholz reported that no decision had yet been made regarding his portrait. Furthermore, the Chancellery itself announced that it currently has no defined timeline for the completion, handover, or installation of the two additional portraits in the Chancellor Gallery.
