Some 230 works, including 70 paintings, gouaches and watercolours, about 20 photographs, and a large number of his best drawings illustrate the art of Adolph Menzel (1815-1905).

As the title Radically Real suggests, the show aims to investigate how Menzel saw reality, and how he directed it by means of his sketches. Five sections attempt to elucidate this process. First, Menzel's personal environment; portraits of family and friends characterize his social environment. Then, the obsessive draughtsman is introduced, who is not held back by banalities of daily life, such as an unmade bed or an abandoned back yard, nor by the unusual, such as a look into a urinal or an opened grave. As indicated by his sketchbooks, travels also played a major role in Menzel's life. Gathered here into one section are his recordings during journeys from Berlin to Bavaria, Salzburg and across the Alps towards Verona. Moreover, in honour of Munich's 850th birthday this year, the city receives a noble homage as seen through the eyes of the Berlin artist.

In the chapter "Teatrum Mundi" one leafs through Menzel's world theatre, both sacred and profane. The artist reveals his social environment through festive happenings at opera and ball, but also counts the baroque scenography of church interiors, the intimate prayer or festive processions among his many interests.