Membranes determine two-dimensional and three-dimensional biochemical reaction 
spaces in living systems. Defining size and shape of surfaces and volumes 
encompassed by membrane is of key importance for cellular metabolism and 
homeostasis, and the maintenance and controlled transformation of membrane 
shapes are coordinated by a large number of different protein assemblies. The 
orchestration of spatial elements over distances orders of magnitudes larger 
than protein molecules, as required for cell division, is a particularly 
challenging task, requiring large-scale ordered protein filaments and networks. 
The structure and function of these networks, particularly of cytoskeletal 
elements, have been characterized extensively in cells and reconstituted 
systems. However, their co-reconstitution with membranes from the bottom-up 
under defined conditions, to elucidate their mode of action in detail, is still 
a relatively new field of research. In this short review, we discuss recent 
approaches and achievements with regard to the study of cytoskeletal protein 
assemblies on model membranes, with specific focus on contractile elements as 
those based on the bacterial division FtsZ protein and eukaryotic actomyosin 
structures.