Natur und Antike. Der Romantiker Friedrich Nerly in Rom

The Kunsthalle Bremen discovers the painter Friedrich Nerly in a major exhibition.
Off to the south - that was the big trend in the Romantic period. Friedrich Nerly (1807-1878) also went to Italy at the age of 21. He worked in Rome, Tivoli and Olevano, then as now hotspots for artists and tourists. He traveled along the coast to Naples and as far as Sicily. He created sun-drenched drawings and watercolors against the backdrop of nature, which served as the basis for his paintings.

The highlight of the exhibition is the painting Campagna Landscape with Aqua Claudia from 1836, which lay dormant in the depot for decades - a difficult case for restoration. Only a generous donation made its elaborate restoration possible. An unknown masterpiece by Nerly came to light!
The subject was new and spectacular at the time: the imposing ruins of the aqueduct at the gates of Rome. It was not until the end of the 1820s that artists began to take an interest in the monument. Nerly's painting marks the beginning of this development and is unique in its design. Works by Blechen, Piranesi, Schirmer and Spitzweg, among others, illustrate the career of the subject.

With the photo series Aqua Claudia, 2014, by Hans-Christian Schink, the exhibition draws a bow to the present and stimulates current debates: about forgotten and rediscovered places, about the change in our view of Italy's cultural heritage and about the history and future of water supply - an essential topic in times of climate change.