Altes Museum in Berlijn 1860 - 1890

Friedrich Albert Schwartz made this photograph of the Altes Museum in Berlin, likely sometime in the late 19th century. We see a building that is not simply a place to house art, but an attempt to define German culture. The Altes Museum, built in the 1820s, was one of the first public museums in Europe, and its architecture consciously echoes classical Greek temples. Through this design, the museum asserts a direct link between ancient Greek civilization and the cultural aspirations of 19th-century Germany. The formal gardens surrounding the museum add to this sense of order and civic pride, reinforcing the idea of the museum as a place of national importance. As historians, we might explore the museum’s collection policies, exhibition designs, and educational programs. These can reveal more about how the institution sought to shape public taste and promote specific narratives about history and identity. The history of art, then, is inseparable from the history of institutions and the social forces that shape them.