The collection’s earliest emphases were conceived as counterparts: 16th- and 17th-century Dutch or Flemish painting, and the (primarily German) 19th-century landscape.
The world’s first large art market arises in the Netherlands in the 17th century. Numerous artists produce works in all genres for a society living a life of luxury based on an often exploitative, colonial overseas trade. Landscapes and still lifes, which can define the visible world and display one’s own wealth, have a special significance here.
The works of German Romanticism in the first half of the 19th century elevate nature to a conveyor of meaning. Many landscapes are an invitation to contemplation, even prayer, and contain allegories of impermanence or eternity. Other paintings deal with antiquity and celebrate Italy as a longed-for ideal. In contrast, the realist painters of the second half of the century attempt to depict reality without idealising it, and in doing so come closer again to the attitude of the Dutch in the 17th century.
