Joachim Heinrich Wilhelm Wagener Explained

Joachim Heinrich Wilhelm Wagener (16 July 1782 in Berlin – 18 January 1861 in Berlin) was a German banker and patron of the arts. His collection formed the initial nucleus of the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin.

Art collection

Wagener's collection started in 1815 when he acquired Karl Friedrich Schinkel's "Gothic Church on a Cliff by the Sea". His collection grew to include a number of landscapes which Wagener had commissioned or purchased, including works by German and international artists.^[1]

Wagener allowed the public to view his collection and commissioned the writing of catalogues.^[2]

In his 1859 will, Wagener left a gift to the Prussian Crown of his art collection on the condition that it form the basis for the creation of a national gallery.^[2] Accordingly, when he died in 1861, 262 works were bequeathed to the Crown,^[1] at that time the largest collection of contemporary painting in the world.^[3] The donation led to the opening of the National Gallery in Berlin the same year.^[3]

Bibliography

Exhibition catalogues

• Gustav Friedrich Waagen: Verzeichniß der Gemälde-Sammlung des am 18. Januar zu Berlin verstorbenen königlichen schwedischen und norwegischen Konsuls J. H. W. Wagener, welche durch letztwillige Bestimmung in den Besitz S. M. des Königs übergegangen ist. Decker, Berlin 1861.

Digitalisat der Ausgabe 1866 (Columbia University NY).

Digitalisat der Ausgabe 1871 (Harvard).

• Katalog der Sammlung von Autographen und Historischen Documenten des im J. 1861 verstorbenen J. H. W. Wagener Bankier und K. Schwed. u. Norweg. Konsul in Berlin. Versteigerung den 26. Februar im Kunst-Auctions-Hause. (B. Lopke) zu Berlin. Berlin 1877.

Studies

• Udo Kittelmann / Birgit Verwiebe / Angelika Wesenberg (Hg.): Die Sammlung des Bankiers Wagener. Die Gründung der Nationalgalerie. E. A. Seemann Verlag, Leipzig 2011,
• Eberhard Roters: Die Nationalgalerie und ihre Stifter. Mäzenatentum und staatliche Förderung in Dialog und Widerspruch. In: Günter Braun (Hrsg.): Mäzenatentum in Berlin. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin etc. 1993,, S. 73–98.

External links

• Anniversary exhibition at the Nationalgalerie

Notes and References

1. Web site: Collecting Landscapes. Google Arts and Culture. Alte Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. 25 March 2024.
2. Book: Keisch, Claude. The Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin. Introduction: The Collection and its Buildings. https://books.google.com/books?id=ApOj7UXAPkYC&dq=Joachim+Heinrich+Wilhelm+Wagener&pg=PA7. 8–9. 2005. Scala Publishers. 978-3-406-52675-6 .
3. Web site: On Tour in Wrocław: Painted Masterpieces of the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin from the Wagener Collection. 16 August 2016. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Alte Nationalgalerie. 25 March 2024.