Exploring the Alte Nationalgalerie

October 18, 2023 5 minute read comments

Berlin’s Alte Nationalgalerie houses a vast collection of 19th century paintings and sculptures. Located on the Museum Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the museum is one of the most visited museums in Germany. The building itself is a work of art, and the collection is a great opportunity to discover the history of art in Germany. I recently visited the museum for the first time and tried to capture some of the beauty of the building and the art it houses.

Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin.

Garden in front of the Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin.

Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin.

Christian Daniel Rauch, Arolsen 1777 - 1857 Dresden, Kranzwerfende Viktoria 1838-45.

Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin.

Hermann Prell, Leipzig 1854 - 1922 Dresden-Loschwitz, Prometheus 1899.

Arnold Böcklin, Basel 1827 - 1901 San Domenico bei Fiesole, Die Toteninsel 1883 (The Isle of the Dead).

Arnold Böcklin, Basel 1827 - 1901 San Domenico bei Fiesole, Meeresbrandung (Der Schall) 1879 (Ocear Breakers (The Sound)).

Arthur Kampf, Aachen 1864 - 1950 Castrop-Rauxel, Der Artist (The Performer), 1907.

Adolph Menzel, Breslau 1815 - 1905 Berlin, Pferdestudie, 1848.

Alte Nationalgalerie, one of the galleries, Berlin.

Franz Krüger, Großbadegast 1797 - 1857 Berlin, Parade auf dem Opernplatz im Jahre 1822 (Parade on Opernplatz in 1822), 1824-1830. On the south side of the street Unter den Linden, in the shade, the royal family: the ladies at the windows of the Princess Palace, the gentlemen in front. In front of the corner of the palace, King Frederick William III on horseback awaits his son-in-law, the Russian heir to the throne Nicholas, who is riding up from the left and whose horse has just completed the turn. Grand Duke Nicholas leads the 6th Brandenburg Corassier Regiment, of which he is the chief. Opposite, in front of the chestnut grove, military men and citizens, many of whom can be named with certainty or presumption. Among them are: between the brown horse and the head of the gray horse the natural scientist and world traveler Alexander von Humboldt and the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer; above the head of the gray horse the composer and Berlin general music director Gasparo Spontini, in the right half of the picture behind the singer Heinrich Blume and the actress Karoline Bauer dressed in white, who are approaching the viewer, a group of artists: Johann Gottfried Schadow, Karl Begas d.A., Karl Friedrich Schinkel, Karl Wilhelm Wach, Christian Daniel Rauch; to the right above him, wearing a barge hat, Johanna Krüger, née Eunicke, a singer. In the background as a rider in a brown skirt the painter himself; far right in the carriage the famous singer Henriette Sontag and the violinist Niccoló Paganini.

Alexander Zschokke, Basel 1894 - 1981 Basel, Ludwig Justi, 1927.

Alte Nationalgalerie, traces of reconstruction after the Second World War.

Alte Nationalgalerie, one of the galleries, Berlin

An exhbited buffalo (from a series of buffalos; no description recorded).

Constantin Meunier, Etterbeck/Brüssel 1831 - 1905 Ixelles/Brüssel, Puddler (1890).

An exhbited equestrian statue (no description recorded).

Stairwell, Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin.

Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin.

Dome roof, Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin.

Niche, Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin.

Gustav Klimt, 1862 Baumgarten - 1918 Wien, Pallas Athene, 1898. Klimt was a founding member of the Vienna Secession. At its first exhibition in 1898, he showed his allegorical painting of Pallas Athena, based on Stuck’s model. The Greek goddess of wisdom and art appears aggressive and self-confident, as a painterly declaration of war, so to speak, against conservative forces.

Gustav Klimt, 1862 Baumgarten - 1918 Wien, Judith, 1901, Belvedere, Wien. The painting depicts the biblical figure of Judith, who has placed her hand on the severed head of Holofernes. Her facial expression exudes pride and seduction. The gold ornamentation underscores the precious, refined sensuality. One of Klimt’s models was The Sin by the Munich Symbolist Stuck, which was presented at the first Secession exhibition in Vienna in 1898.

Simplicissimus.

No description.

George Minne, 1866 Genf-1941 Sint-Martens-Latem, Kneeling Fountain Figure, 1898.

One of the galleries, Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin.

Max Kurzweil, 1867 Bisenz- 1916 Wien, Dame in Gelb (Lady in Yellow), 1899. Kurzweil, a founding member of Athe Vienna Secession, was, along with Klimt, an important portrait painter in Viennese society. His wife Martha was the model for this provocative portrait. Her bright yellow dress, which contrasts with the green-patterned canvas, powdered skin, red lips, and confident, erotic pose with outstretched naked arms caused a stir around 1900.

One of the galleries, Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin.

Copy of a French sculpture.

Johann Victor Krämer, 1861 Adamsthal-1949 Wien, Selbstbildnis am Kamin, 1889.

Sculpture, Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin.

Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin.

Eduard Daege, Erfindung der Malerei, 1832.

Julius Hübner, Oels/Schlesien 1806 - 1882 Loschwitz/Dresden, Die Maler Karl Friedrich Lessing, Carl Ferdinand Sohn und Theodor Hildebrandt, 1839.

Julius Hübner, Oels/Schlesien 1806 - 1882 Loschwitz/Dresden, Pauline Charlotte Bendemann, die Braut des Künstlers, 1829.

Theodor Hildebrandt, 1804-1874, Der Räuber, 1829.

Karl Friedrich Lessing, Breslau 1808 - 1880 Karisruhe, Ritterburg (Knight’s castle), 1828.

Friedrich Overbeck, Lübeck 1789 - 1869 Rom, Der Heilige Sebastian (Saint Sebastlan), um 1813-16.

Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, Wien 1793 - 1885 Wien, Die Mutter des Hauptmanns von Stierle-Holzmeister (The Mother of Captain von Stierle-Holzmeister), um 1819.