Philipp Demandt is the son of the ancient historian
Alexander Demandt and grandson of the Hessian state historian Karl Ernst Demandt. Due to his father's appointment as a professor of ancient history at the Friedrich Meinecke Institute of the
Free University of Berlin, the family moved to
West Berlin in 1975. Philipp Demandt studied
art history,
classical archaeology, and
communication studies, completing his studies in 2001 at the Institute for History and Cultural Studies of the Free University of Berlin with a doctorate on
The Historical Mythology of the Prussian State Reflected in the "Luise Cult". After an initial professional position as an exhibition assistant at the Berlin
Bröhan Museum, he worked from 2004 as a curator at the Cultural Foundation of the German States. His work included supporting German museums in acquiring artworks from the 17th to 19th centuries. Additionally, he led the foundation's magazine
Arsprototo and the scientific publication series
Patrimonia. Demandt has published numerous articles on art and cultural history in newspapers such as the
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung,
Süddeutsche Zeitung, and
Die Welt. His work focuses on topics of the 19th century. After publishing on the Prussian Queen
Luise in 2003, he worked from 2007 to 2010 as a scientific advisor and co-curator on the exhibition
Luise. Life and Myth of the Queen. This exhibition, organized by the
Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg, took place in 2010 at
Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin. Demandt led the
Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin starting from January 2012. He succeeded Bernhard Maaz, who became the director of the
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister and the
Kupferstich-Kabinett in Dresden. Since 1 October 2016, Philipp Demandt has been the director of the
Städel Museum and the
Liebieghaus sculpture collection, succeeding
Max Hollein. From October 2016 to June 2022, Demandt also led the
Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt am Main. In September 2021, it was announced that he would extend his tenure as director of the Städel Museum and the Liebieghaus until 2026, while his role at the Schirn Kunsthalle would conclude at the end of June 2022 due to a strategic realignment. == Exhibitions ==