The Kulturstiftung Dessau-Wörlitz (Dessau-Wörlitz Cultural Foundation) announced it received funding for a major research project into its painting collection of Amalia van Solms (1602–1675).
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) is supporting the research project ‘Perceiving Heritage: Oranian Paintings in Anhalt-Dessau’ by Dr Anette Froesch, Head of the Palaces and Collections Department at the Kulturstiftung Dessau-Wörlitz (KsDW), and Prof. Dr. Caecilie Weissert, holder of the Chair of Modern Art History (1400-1800) at Christian Albrecht University in Kiel.
In September, the DFG approved around € 700,000 to support a research project investigating the unique collection of Flemish and Dutch paintings preserved in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Garden Realm of Dessau-Wörlitz. The funds will primarily be used to hire specialist staff. The research project will redevelop this special cultural heritage in the Garden Realm and make it accessible to future generations.
The unique legacy of Amalia van Solms
The paintings are a significant part of the famous collection of Amalia van Solms (1602–1675), the widow of the Dutch stadtholder Frederick Henry of Orange (1584–1647). After her death, they ended up in the former Principality of Anhalt-Dessau through complicated inheritance proceedings and sales. Today, they are part of the KsDW collections and, in some cases, the Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie in Dessau, making them an integral part of the World Heritage landscape. The collection includes paintings by distinguished artists such as Jan Brueghel the Elder and Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Gerard van Honthorst, Hendrick Goltzius and Jan Mijtens.
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), Alexander and Roxana, ca. 1625
Kulturstiftung Dessau-Wörlitz, Dessau-Roßlau
Closing a historical research gap
Despite the significance of this collection, it has not yet been comprehensively analyzed, and the study of the heritage that came to Anhalt-Dessau is still pending. To date, only around 40 paintings in the entire collection of Flemish-Dutch paintings on site (approx. 350 works) can be clearly attributed to the original collection of Amalia van Solms. Historically, research has been hindered by various factors. For example, essential sources and literature that were only available in West Germany and the Netherlands were inaccessible due to the political division until 1989.
Aims of the research project
The aim of the newly funded project is to conduct comprehensive provenance research on the surviving collection of Orange paintings and, above all, to undertake an in-depth art-historical analysis. Particular focus will be placed on systematically exploring the reception of this collection — especially on identifying who presented which paintings, when, where, and with what intention. Research will trace the perception of Dutch paintings in the collections over several centuries – up to the generation of Amalia van Solms’ great-great-grandchildren, which included Leopold III Friedrich Franz von Anhalt-Dessau, the creator of the Garden Realm. Special emphasis will be placed on analyzing the function and impact of the historical display of paintings in the eighteenth century, as Mosigkau Palace, the Gothic House, and Wörlitz Palace have preserved presentation contexts from the second half of that century, representing a unique source for study.
Impulses for future collection research
The desired development of the preservation and perception of this historical heritage aims to providing impetus that goes beyond current approaches to residence and collection research. Connectable insights into the transregional and intergenerational identity-forming handling of cultural heritage are expected. The results are also relevant with regard to the reception of the painting arrangement by today’s visitors.
Given the complexity of the project, the close collaboration between museum expertise and the university’s academic research is essential to its success. The project managers will cooperate closely with the Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie Dessau in this inter-institutional project. The project is supported by numerous other partners, including international ones such as the Royal Collections and the Royal House Archive in The Hague and the Paleis Het Loo in Apeldoorn. This update of the painting inventory is an important step in taking the collections into the future.