Reviews

Berlin's Alte Nationalgalerie was established in 1876 as a repository of contemporary German art. Like much of the city, it suffered under the Third Reich, but the reunified German capital is again asserting its status as a preeminent cultural capital and renovating this and other state museums. Once its neoclassic building is upgraded, the Nationalgalerie will be the place in Berlin to see the many forms of 19th-century German painting. Until then, 77 of the museum's finest paintings are traveling to America and the United Kingdom. This companion to the exhibition is made up of large reproductions accompanied by short but densely informative commentaries by the curator-authors. Most of the works selected are by artists rarely seen outside Germany, though others, such as the operatic landscapes of Caspar David Friedrich and chiaroscuro still lifes by Adolph Menzel, will be more familiar to U.S. audiences. A chronology of German arts and history from 1800 to 1914 provides a solid armature for the general essays on 19th-century culture, which comprise the main text. A good primer on an important epoch; recommended for academic and larger public libraries. Douglas F. Smith, Oakland P.L. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.