Klassik Stiftung Weimar

The Foundation of Weimar Classics

The collection of Dutch and Flemish drawings and prints in the Klassik Stiftung Weimar 1500–1900 consists of more than 1,500 drawings from the Dutch and Flemish schools, formerly part of the collection of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and the drawing collection of the Kunstsammlungen zu Weimar (former Grand Ducal Museum). Both collections were united in 2003 and belong to the newly established Klassik Stiftung Weimar. Today the entire collection provides a comprehensive overview of Dutch and Flemish drawings from the end of the fifteenth to the end of the nineteenth century, with exceptional individual drawings, for example by Lucas van Leyden, Anthony Van Dyck, and Peter Paul Rubens, as well as unique by Dirck Vellert, Abraham Bloemaert, Gerrit Rademaker, Pieter Dircksz. van Santvoort, Herman Saftleven, Anthonie Waterloo and Willem van de Velde the Elder. There are two outstanding ensembles: the drawings by Rembrandt and his workshop and the collection of works dating from 1750 to 1850, which is one of the most extensive holdings outside the Netherlands. The collection of Netherlandish prints derives from the same origin as the drawings collection. It comprises 5549 sheets from the Grand Ducal Collection and 489 sheets from the Goethe Collection.

Dr. Thomas Ketelsen, Curator of Netherlandish and Flemish Drawings and Dr. Christien Melzer, Scientific Associate (May 2020)