Former chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) appears in a blue blazer in her portrait for the official gallery at the Chancellery—and the color was no accident. "That took some thought, obviously," the 72-year-old said at the opening of the art exhibition. "I did rule out red. I’ll leave that one to the first Social Democratic chancellor."
Blue is a color with presence, one that radiates something, Merkel explained. "You can imagine anything from sea blue to steel blue—from severity to sweetness. And I had plenty of blue tones up my sleeve."
As a "splash of color" at G20 summits
Part of the reasoning, she said, was that in many photos from international conferences, her blazers made her "a splash of color among the rather dark rows of men." And she always felt glad, she recalled, "whenever several splashes of color turned up at a G20 gathering."
The portrait, unveiled in late June by the German-French artist Jérémie Queyras, is currently on public view at the Bode Museum in Berlin—due to strong interest, the exhibition, originally planned to run through October 4, has just been extended to January 3, 2027. After that, the painting will go to the Chancellery on loan, for the gallery of former chancellors’ portraits. It shows Merkel in a blue blazer against a golden-brown background.
Adenauer portrait has accompanied Merkel since 2002
Merkel came to the Bundestag for the opening of an art exhibition that spotlights two works from parliament’s art collection. Among them is a portrait of the first federal chancellor, Konrad Adenauer (CDU), by Oskar Kokoschka, which Merkel kept in her offices from 2002 onward—first as parliamentary group leader, then at the Chancellery, and now since leaving office. Alongside it is a portrait of former chancellor Willy Brandt (SPD) by Andy Warhol.
Asked to temporarily part with "her" Adenauer for the exhibition, Merkel said she was glad to do so. It mattered, she said, that the painting once again reach a wider audience. Merkel didn’t want anything "nearly equivalent" put up as a placeholder either, as Bundestag president Julia Klöckner (CDU) made clear.
The former chancellor confirmed as much: "I’m now looking at a blank wall, on the occasion of Konrad Adenauer’s 150th birthday. But that’s a kind of Lenten retreat, in a way—it heightens the anticipation for the future, for my companion’s eventual return." The exhibition "Kokoschkas Adenauer. Warhols Brandt" runs through January 10, 2027.
"A joy that people are different"
In a panel discussion at the event, Merkel was also asked about Adenauer’s ideas—and she argued against selling the concept of democracy short. "Many people understand democracy simply as free elections. But that falls far short." It also requires minority rights, a free press, an independent judiciary, and freedom of art and science, she said.
The former CDU leader also highlighted the concept of the "Christian view of humanity," which she said had always shaped her deeply. "Because it simply expresses the joy that people are different. Democracy must never work toward making people uniform or the same."