"Romantics, Realists, Revolutionaries: 19th-Century German Masterpieces from the Museum of Fine Arts, Leipzig"
2000-10-22 until 2001-01-28
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Houston, TX, USA

A rare showing of 19th-century German art debuts in the United States at the MFAH this fall. The exhibition Romantics, Realists, Revolutionaries: 19th-Century German Masterpieces from the Museum of Fine Arts, Leipzig presents a selection of paintings, sculpture, prints, and drawings from one of the great museums of German art, the Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig (Museum of Fine Arts, Leipzig). Now, Americans have an extraordinary opportunity to view important German works of art that until recently have gone largely unheralded in this country.

For several reasons, the MFAH is a natural venue to showcase 19th-century German art from the Leipzig Museum. Perhaps the most compelling reason is that nearly one-fifth of Texas’s residents claim German ancestry. Besides this important connection, Houston and Leipzig became sister cities in 1993, and have shared and exchanged many cultural programs, both here and in Germany. What better setting than the Audrey Jones Beck Building for people to experience firsthand an unusual and provocative exhibition of 19th-century German art!

The exhibition, comprising 75 paintings, four sculptures, and 10 works on paper, highlights the main artists and movements in 19th-century Germany. Whereas some artists like Caspar David Friedrich are well known, the achievements of many other German artists are less understood despite their often profound influence on American artists—particularly during the period from 1840 to 1880. Works by Carl Blechen, Arnold Böcklin, Carl Gustav Carus, Johan Christian Clausen Dahl, Lovis Corinth, Max Klinger, Joseph Anton Koch, Wilhelm Leibl, Adolph von Menzel, Wilhelm Trübner, and Fritz von Uhde, which form the core of the permanent collection of the Leipzig Museum, are showcased in the exhibition.

IMAGE:
Joseph Anton Koch,
Schmadribach Waterfall in the Lauterbrunnen Valley, 1811,
oil on canvas,
the Museum of Fine Arts, Leipzig.

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for the State of Texas

Other Important Exhibitions in Houston