"The Interior of the Palm House," Carl Blechen, 1832/33.

Blechen (1798-1840) was a noted painter of Romantic landscapes. This painting was a special commission by Frederick William III of Prussia, and the setting is a real one, the Palm House at the royal retreat of Pfaueninsel, an island near Potsdam. The Palm House was a lavish conservatory (burned down in 1880) that was quite a sight to see, if this is any indication.

Blechen did two versions; another view, hanging in the Art Institute of Chicago, was given to Frederick's daughter, who had married Nichola I of Russia.

This is a lavish example of Romantic Orientalism, with the palms, the architecture, even the harem girls lounging on the floor.

From the Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg.

#Art #CarlBlechen #Romanticism #Orientalism #Conservatories

Now an English version of our recent web publication with our students, titled "Images of the World", is available:

How were images of the world and ideas of foreignness and otherness negotiated and constituted in nineteenth-century art?

https://museumsandsociety.net/en/research/digital-image-worlds/weltbilder

#museumcollections #paintings #annotation #openscience #sciencecommunication #teaching #publishing #studentpublishing #webpublishing #digitalarthistory #decolonize
#AlexandervonHumboldt
#AiméBonpland
#FerdinandKonradBellermann
#FriedrichGeorgWeitsch
#CarlBlechen
#FriedrichAugustStüler
#PaulMeyerheim
#WilhelmKuhnert
#RadenSaleh
#AmritaSherGil
#Palmenhaus
#BerlinerZoo

The website "Weltbilder" is the result of a seminar in #ArtHistory at #TUBerlin. The seminar examined how ideas of foreignness and otherness are negotiated and constructed in 19th century art.

The website is in German, translation will follow.

https://museumsandsociety.net/de/research/digital-image-worlds/weltbilder

#museumcollections #paintings #annotation #openscience #sciencecommunication #teaching #publishing #studentpublishing #webpublishing #digitalarthistory #decolonize
#AlexandervonHumboldt
#AiméBonpland
#FerdinandKonradBellermann
#FriedrichGeorgWeitsch
#CarlBlechen
#FriedrichAugustStüler
#PaulMeyerheim
#WilhelmKuhnert
#RadenSaleh
#AmritaSherGil
#Palmenhaus
#BerlinerZoo