Even at the time of their creation, works by Pieter Bruegel the Elder were highly sought after. One of the most important collectors was Emperor Rudolf II in Prague, who also owned The Land of Cockaigne. Today, it is one of the main works in the Alte Pinakothek. But how did it end up in Munich?
The presentation traces the painting’s journey from the Richard von Kaufmann Collection to the 1917 auction at Paul Cassirer and Hugo Helbing to the Alte Pinakothek. Several of the people who made the acquisition of The Land of Cockaigne for the Alte Pinakothek possible were persecuted, marginalised and murdered for being Jewish during the time of National Socialism. They are representative of the numerous patrons of the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen who contributed significantly to the expansion of Bavarian art collections. This presentation commemorates their commitment.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder (ca. 1526/1530-1569), The Land of Cockaigne, 1567, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen – Alte Pinakothek, Munich