J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM TO SHOW RARE GERMAN DRAWINGS IN FIRST AMERICAN TOUR OF WINTERSTEIN COLLECTION

Exhibition dates: September 22-November 29, 1998

Los Angeles, CA.-Many Southern Californians will see for the first time major works from one of the world's finest private collections of German drawings and watercolors when Fuseli to Menzel: Drawings and Watercolors in the Age of Goethe opens on September 22 at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center.

The exhibition explores the art of drawing in German-speaking central Europe from around l750th1rough 1850. Known as the "Age of Goethe," this era is considered to be one of the greatest in draftsmanship by artists of German-speaking lands. Their achievement can be seen in 80 drawings and watercolors by 47 artists, including Henry Fuseli (1741-1825), Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) and Adolph von Menzel (1815-1905). The exhibition also contains examples by the philosopher, writer, and naturalist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), who was the preeminent literary figure for whom the Age of Goethe was named.

The exhibition, recently seen at the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University Museums, Cambridge, Massachusetts, followed by the Frick Collection, New York, is selected from the collection formed by Munich attorney Alfred Winterstein (1895-1976).

"These drawings have a combination of clarity and passionate feeling that's rare in the history of art." saidJohn Walsh, Director oftheJ. Paul Getty Museum. "Winterstein bought with a very keen eye. We're delighted to have this loan from his family so that Los Angeles audiences can make discoveries of their own."

The exhibition begins with examples by artists born in the 1700s, such as Fuseli and Friedrich, as well as the Rome-based brotherhood of German painters known as the Nazarenes, that sought to revive religious art and fresco painting in the style of Renaissance artists. The Nazarenes are represented through a rich concentration of landscapes and portraits, including works by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794-1872) and Ferdinand Olivier (1785-1841). There are also fine examples by the artists of the Biedermeier Period (1815-1848), known for their depictions of pleasant middle-class domestic life; major German architects such as Friedrich Gilly (1772-1800) and Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781- 1841); and a group of drawings by Menzel, the Berlin realist whose work is so often compared to that of Edgar Degas.

Highlights of the exhibition

Among the exhibition's highlights is the elaborately finished gouache, Perseus with the Graeae (1771-1772) by Fuseli, which captures a dramatic moment in the ancient myth of Perseus, in which he encounters the gray-haired sisters of the frightful Medusa. The Source of the Elbe in the Riesengebirge (around 1830), by Friedrich, shows a solitary figure gazing into a stream that.srickles through a desolate mountain meadow. This watercolor invites reflection on the source of a great river that flows through Dresden and Hamburg en route to the North Sea. (Friedrich's three drawings in the exhibition can be seen in context with A Walk at Dusk, the Getty painting by the artist that hangs in a nearby gallery). The silhouette, with its essential characteristics of pure outline, became a popular visual art during the Neoclassic and Romantic periods. Visitors will see three works by a master of the silhouette, Philipp Otto Runge (1777-1810), including a fine cutout, Rose, Thistle, Pear. Unusual for the period is the p1cm air quality of The Temple of Apollo in the English Garden in Munich, by the Munich artist Johann Georg von Dillis (1759-1841), who was among the most celebrated watercolorists of his time. In this example, he rendered the soft light of dawn surrounding a temple. The Opera Glass (around 1850), a pastel by Menzel, shows a contemporary subject and a daring freedom of execution that anticipates French Impressionism.

The Winterstein Collection

The inspiration for Alfred Winterstein's collection began early in the 20th century, when the collector viewed several exhibitions of Romantic period drawings. He was strongly attracted to the music, literature, and visual arts of the time and felt a particular affinity to the work of Goethe. Winterstein, in fact, created a "Goethe Room" at his country residence with period furniture, decorative arts, and literature. Collecting drawings naturally followed and became an interest that flourished for five decades. Winterstein considered the collecting of drawings to be an important cultural activity, which he shared through public speaking and loaning his works to cultural institutions. The collection continues to expand today through the efforts of the next generation of the family.

At the J. Paul Getty Museum, the presentation of Fuseli to Menzel has been coordinated by Associate Drawings Curator Lee Hendrix. It is curated by Hinrich Sieveking, curator of the Winterstein Collection. The exhibition was initiated and organized by the Busch-Reisinger Museum, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and has been made possible by the generous support of Merck, Finck & Co., Privatbankiers, a member of the Barclays Group, with additional support from the Friends of the Busch-Reisinger Museum.

Comprehensive catalogue

The fully illustrated catalogue by Hinrich Sieveking features drawings and watercolors by the artists represented in the exhibition (169 illustrations, 93 in color). Essays survey aspects of German drawing during the Goethe period and trace the development of the collection formed by the Winterstein family. Biographies of the artists are also provided in this volume, which is the most comprehensive publication on this collection available in English. Distributed by Prestel, the soft-cover catalogue ($35.00) will be available in the bookstore of the J. Paul Getty Museum. For phone orders, call (310) 440-7059.

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