Lot Essay
This recently rediscovered work, dated 1836, is the first recorded version of a group of paintings of the Unter den Linden, taken from this viewpoint.
The Unter den Linden, which derives its name from the lime trees first planted along the avenue in 1647, represented one of the focal points of the city by connecting the Schloss with the Brandenburger Tor and Charlottenburg. Gaertner, who was frequently commissioned by King Friedrich Wilhelm III to record sites of the city, painted this view by positioning himself at the corner of Universitätsstrasse and Unter den Linden, facing the Schloss.
The building immediately to the left is the Universität, which was converted in 1810 from a Palais built for Prinz Heinrich (1726-1802), the brother of Friedrich II. The imposing gates of the building were the main subject in his lithograph Portal der Universität of 1829. Between the Zeughaus, the building partially blocking the view of the Schloss, and the Universität, two sculptures by Christian Rauch of the generals Friedrich Wilhelm Graf Bülow von Dennewitz and Gerhard David von Scharnhorst are visible. They front the Neue Wache (1817-18), designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, which is not visible in the painting.
To the right of the painting is the Königliches Opernhaus, built by Georg Wenceslaus von Knobelsdorff from 1741-43, destroyed by fire in 1843, but immediately rebuilt according to its original plans by Ferdinand Langhans. Gaertner frequently recorded this building, most prominently in a painting of 1833 (Märkisches Museum, Berlin) viewed from the Neue Wache, beyond the Scharnhorst sculpture, and in a painting of 1845 (Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Madrid) viewed from the centre of the avenue. The sculpture by Rauch of Fürst Blücher, which stands next to the Königliches Opernhaus, was erected in 1826. Behind the sculpture, in our painting, is the Palaisgarten, flanking the Prinzessinenpalais. This palace was connected in 1816 to the Kronprinzenpalais, originally built by Arnold Nehrig in 1663 as the Königlicher Palais. The latter was rebuilt in 1732 by Philipp Gerlach for Prinz Friedrich, later Friedrich II of Prussia. The two palaces were painted by Gaertner in 1849 (Kunsthalle, Hamburg) seen from the Neue Wache with the Bülow sculpture in the foreground. In the distance the Schlossbrücke over the Spree, designed by Schinkel and built from 1819-24, is discernable, flanked by the Kommandatur and the Schlossfreiheit buildings. A view of the Schlossfreiheit and the Schlossbrücke painted from the end of the Unter den Linden was sold in these Rooms, 18 June 1994, lot 72 to the Friends of the Nationalgalerie, Berlin.
The two later and larger versions of Unter den Linden of 1853 and 1857, (Nationalgalerie, Berlin, and the Stiftung Oskar Reinhart, Winterthur, respectively), differ notably from our work by the inclusion of the equestrian sculpture of Friedrich II by Rauch, which was unveiled in 1851. This inclusion was only possible by the artist retreating about 30 metres, also to include the Akademie der Künste on the left of the painting as well as August Friedrich Stühler's cupola on the chapel of the Schloss, built from 1844-52, which dominates these backgrounds in these paintings. Stylistically Gaertner employs a cooler palette in the 1836 version than in the later paintings, recalling the colour tones of his Moscow series, begun in 1837, through a commission from the Czar's wife, Alexandra Feodorovna. A preparatory drawing for our painting in the Märkisches Museum, Berlin, dated to approximately the same date by Irmgard Wirth (Eduard Gaertner, Frankfurt-am-Main, 1978 (illus. p. 86)), omits the figures.
The Unter den Linden, which derives its name from the lime trees first planted along the avenue in 1647, represented one of the focal points of the city by connecting the Schloss with the Brandenburger Tor and Charlottenburg. Gaertner, who was frequently commissioned by King Friedrich Wilhelm III to record sites of the city, painted this view by positioning himself at the corner of Universitätsstrasse and Unter den Linden, facing the Schloss.
The building immediately to the left is the Universität, which was converted in 1810 from a Palais built for Prinz Heinrich (1726-1802), the brother of Friedrich II. The imposing gates of the building were the main subject in his lithograph Portal der Universität of 1829. Between the Zeughaus, the building partially blocking the view of the Schloss, and the Universität, two sculptures by Christian Rauch of the generals Friedrich Wilhelm Graf Bülow von Dennewitz and Gerhard David von Scharnhorst are visible. They front the Neue Wache (1817-18), designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, which is not visible in the painting.
To the right of the painting is the Königliches Opernhaus, built by Georg Wenceslaus von Knobelsdorff from 1741-43, destroyed by fire in 1843, but immediately rebuilt according to its original plans by Ferdinand Langhans. Gaertner frequently recorded this building, most prominently in a painting of 1833 (Märkisches Museum, Berlin) viewed from the Neue Wache, beyond the Scharnhorst sculpture, and in a painting of 1845 (Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, Madrid) viewed from the centre of the avenue. The sculpture by Rauch of Fürst Blücher, which stands next to the Königliches Opernhaus, was erected in 1826. Behind the sculpture, in our painting, is the Palaisgarten, flanking the Prinzessinenpalais. This palace was connected in 1816 to the Kronprinzenpalais, originally built by Arnold Nehrig in 1663 as the Königlicher Palais. The latter was rebuilt in 1732 by Philipp Gerlach for Prinz Friedrich, later Friedrich II of Prussia. The two palaces were painted by Gaertner in 1849 (Kunsthalle, Hamburg) seen from the Neue Wache with the Bülow sculpture in the foreground. In the distance the Schlossbrücke over the Spree, designed by Schinkel and built from 1819-24, is discernable, flanked by the Kommandatur and the Schlossfreiheit buildings. A view of the Schlossfreiheit and the Schlossbrücke painted from the end of the Unter den Linden was sold in these Rooms, 18 June 1994, lot 72 to the Friends of the Nationalgalerie, Berlin.
The two later and larger versions of Unter den Linden of 1853 and 1857, (Nationalgalerie, Berlin, and the Stiftung Oskar Reinhart, Winterthur, respectively), differ notably from our work by the inclusion of the equestrian sculpture of Friedrich II by Rauch, which was unveiled in 1851. This inclusion was only possible by the artist retreating about 30 metres, also to include the Akademie der Künste on the left of the painting as well as August Friedrich Stühler's cupola on the chapel of the Schloss, built from 1844-52, which dominates these backgrounds in these paintings. Stylistically Gaertner employs a cooler palette in the 1836 version than in the later paintings, recalling the colour tones of his Moscow series, begun in 1837, through a commission from the Czar's wife, Alexandra Feodorovna. A preparatory drawing for our painting in the Märkisches Museum, Berlin, dated to approximately the same date by Irmgard Wirth (Eduard Gaertner, Frankfurt-am-Main, 1978 (illus. p. 86)), omits the figures.