This portrait of Margrave Karl Friedrich Albrecht (1705–1762), painted around 1745, shows a composition that was frequently used at the time: the ruling nobleman – usually the person who commissioned
During their trip to America from 1799 to 1804, Alexander von Humboldt and his French colleague Aimé Bonpland spent several days at Mount Chimborazo in what is now Ecuador. In the foreground of the pa
The SPSG’s treatment of objects and concepts with colonial reference The discussion on the consequences of colonialism with regard to European collections and museums is not new. A basic question in a
The story of the rape of the married and virtuous Lucretia by the king's son Tarquinius, her rebellion against her attacker and her subsequent suicide is part of the founding myth of the Roman Republi
The Palm House on Peacock Island was built from 1829 to 1831 according to designs by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. It was made of glass and wood and was designed in a style that was partly Indian and partl
One of the most unusual objects in the collections housed at the Prussian Palaces and Gardens of Berlin-Brandenburg is an almost 2.90-metre-high bronze incense urn on the lawn near the Chinese House i
Between 1686 and 1689 the glassmaker and alchemist Johann Kunckel produced coloured glass beads in his glassworks on Peacock Island. The deed from the Elector Friedrich Wilhelm von Brandenburg, which
The painted interior of the round tower room at the royal manor on Peacock Island imitates a hut made of bamboo and palms. The painted scenic views depict a fictive landscape resembling those found in
Frederick William, the Elector of Brandenburg, is shown seated upon his horse like a god, with his head held high and no stirrups. This statue once stood on the bridge known as the Lange Brücke (now R
In 1681, Otto Friedrich Graf von der Groeben (1656‒1728) entered into the service of the “Great Elector”, Frederick William of Brandenburg (1620‒1688). Before taking up this position, he had travelled
The sledge’s runners are crowned by the bust of a Black man wearing a turban and star pendant on a gold chain. The object recalls carousels that had been designed for the great princely courts since t
The two paintings called “Brazilian Virgin Forest” (1830) by Johann Moritz Rugendas are among the works created by the so-called “traveling artists” in the 19th century. Following the example of Alexa
