Projects of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar are funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Free State of Thuringia, represented by the State Chancellery of Thuringia, Department of Culture and the Arts.
Thanks to the generous support of the Freundeskreis des Goethe-Nationalmuseums e. V. (Association of Friends of the Goethe National Museum), we were able to acquire two drawings which had originally belonged to Goethe’s private collection in 2022. These yet unknown pieces are presented here for the first time.
A primary task of every museum is to strategically expand its collection through purchases and donations. Indeed, the educational activities of museums are centred around collecting the intellectual and cultural-historic documents of the past, studying them for the benefit of visitors today, and preserving them for generations to come.
To this end, we have been very fortunate in the generous support of our many sponsors and patrons. The following presentation creates an arc spanning our most recent acquisitions to donations which the Goethe National Museum has received since its founding in 1885. The drawings from Goethe’s estate offer insights into his collection and its history.
Ruins of a Chapel with Mortal Remains, 18th century
This drawing was purchased for the museum at an auction in 2022. It originates from Goethe’s collection as indicated by the oval stamp at the bottom right-hand corner of the sheet. Goethe owned more than 2,000 drawings and over 9,000 prints, making his collection one of the largest and most significant of his time.
Purchased in 2022 with funding from the Freundeskreis des Goethe-Nationalmuseums e. V.
Head of a Young Man (front)
Christ at the Collumn and Christ Blessing (reverse), 18th century
In 1848 Goethe’s private secretary Christian Schuchardt compiled a catalogue of Goethe’s art collections. However, several drawings which bare his collector’s stamp (1-4) are not listed. These pieces apparently remained in the private ownership of Goethe’s family after his death in 1832 and were not among the items donated to the Goethe National Museum in 1885.
Purchased in 2022 with funding from the Freundeskreis des Goethe-Nationalmuseums e. V.
Jacob Shown Joseph’s Bloody Cloak, ca. 1655/60
This drawing from Goethe’s collection was ascribed to Rembrandt in Goethe’s day and depicts a scene from the Bible account of Joseph. But it is possible that this piece is actually the work of one of Rembrandt’s pupils.
The drawing was purchased for the museum in 1939 from a descendant of Goethe’s wife Christiane Vulpius. Another drawing from Goethe’s estate with a very closely related motif can be found today at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam.
Purchased in 1939 from the estate of Wolfgang Vulpius
Forest Landscape, mid- to late-17th century
Like the drawing by Rembrandt’s pupil (3), this sheet also belonged to Christiane Vulpius’ family. The Goethe National Museum does not own the piece; it is a permanent loan entrusted to the museum for safe-keeping and long-term conservation.
Goethe had some of his drawings mounted onto green cardboard, and this is an example. It was believed that the colour calmed the eyes and made observing the artwork more pleasant.
Permanent loan since 1995 from the Sparkassen-Kulturstiftung Hessen-Thüringen, originally owned by Waltraud Vulpius
The Visitation, mid-17th century
Goethe often purchased artworks at auctions and from art dealers. In the 19th century, Leipzig was an important centre of the art trade and Carl Gustav Boerner was one of the most influential art dealers of that time. Goethe prominently displayed his collector’s stamp on the drawn frame of the sheet.
Purchased in 1829 by Goethe for his collection from the Leipzig art dealer Boerner
Landscape with Waterfall, 1773
Some drawings from Goethe’s estate originally belonged to important collections. This sheet, for example, was owned by the Leipzig merchant Heinrich Wilhelm Campe, as indicated by his monogram embossed in the bottom right corner. Today drawings from Campe’s collection are kept in many prestigious museums around the world.
Purchased in 1827 by Goethe for his collection from the Leipzig art dealer Boerner
Landscape with Waterfall (after Johann Alexander Thiele), 1768
Modelled after a piece by the landscape painter Johann Alexander Thiele, Goethe dedicated this etching to his father as expressed by the inscription in French below the illustration. Goethe produced the etching along with its counterpart (8) while enrolled as a student at the University of Leipzig.
Donated to the museum in 1886 by the Goethe-Gesellschaft in Weimar
Landscape with Waterfall (after Johann Alexander Thiele), 1768
This etching was also modelled after one of Thiele’s paintings. It is dedicated to Christian Gottfried Hermann, a friend and fellow student of Goethe’s who later became the mayor of Leipzig.
Both etchings (7 & 8) were gifted to the museum in 1886 by the Goethe-Gesellschaft in Weimar. At the time, the etchings were exquisite additions to the newly founded museum.
Donated to the museum in 1886 by the Goethe-Gesellschaft in Weimar
Landscape at Möckern near Leipzig (after Christian Gottfried Hermann), 1765/68
In this drawing, Goethe copied a graphic print made by his friend and fellow student Christian Gottfried Hermann. Hermann’s etching (shown on the right) also belonged to Goethe’s estate and might have been given to him by his friend. There is no record of whether Goethe gifted his drawing to Hermann in return.
This sheet was purchased by the Vereinigung der Freunde des Goethehauses (now the Freundeskreis des Goethe-Nationalmuseums e. V.) in 1910, the year it was established.
Purchased in 1910 with funding from the Vereinigung der Freunde des Goethehauses
Landscape with Farmhouses, ca. 1770/80
This gift from the Freundeskreis des Goethe-Nationalmuseums e.V. was a very special donation. It had originally belonged to the writer Bettina von Arnim. The poetess probably received the piece from Goethe’s mother or her own mother, both of whom had been close friends.
Bettina von Arnim and Goethe also knew each other and corresponded by letter. However, after a falling out between Bettina von Arnim and his wife, Goethe broke off all contact.
Donated to the museum in 2004 by the Freundeskreis des Goethe-Nationalmuseums e. V.
Goethe’s collector’s stamp
Like many collectors of drawings and prints, Goethe used a stamp as a mark of ownership (1–6). He tended to stamp works which were particularly meaningful to him or were created by well-known artists. Nowadays we often encounter only half of the stamp as Goethe usually affixed his stamp over the sheet and the cardbord, to which it was mounted. Whenever a sheet was removed from the original mount, one part of the stamp is lost (6).
It is interesting that the stamp is completely visible on those drawings that are missing in the collection catalogue of 1848 (1-4). As this was not something Goethe was known to do, it is reasonable to assume that he wasn’t the one who stamped the sheets. Possibly someone else stamped the drawings after his death when they became the property of his family.
Projects of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar are funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Free State of Thuringia, represented by the State Chancellery of Thuringia, Department of Culture and the Arts.