A treasure chamber full of surprises

Visitors’ books always provide interesting insights. After all, they provide information about what the visitors (don’t really) like – and sometimes even about where they come from. In the case of the Ducal Museum, the visitors’ book contains entries from all over the world, with a conspicuous number from South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. Timo Trümper, exhibition curator and Head of the Science and Collections Department, also tells of delegations from the Far East. Their primary focus is the Japanese and Chinese collections, which include precious garments and accessories, paintings, East Asian porcelain and historical ceramics. The elaborately decorated lacquerware is particularly eye-catching: the artists even set out to sea to ensure dust-free processing. This makes us appreciate the value of a tobacco tin with gold trim or a chest inlaid with mother-of-pearl even more!

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Japanese lacquer art, ©Lutz Ebhardt, Friedenstein Foundation Gotha

In general, Trümper believes that “the supraregional attention is still thoroughly deserved today, even if the Chinese collection was even more comprehensive in around 1800.” He bemoans the slogan “Thuringian Louvre”, but doesn’t object when people refer to the art collection as the most valuable in the Free State of Thuringia.

From castle to independent museum

An extensive collection has been accumulated! The Ernestine rulers of the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, which was divided up in 1825 and passed to Saxe-Coburg among others, were active as collectors for centuries. Ernest the Pious laid the foundations, and his descendants emulated his appreciation for art. The first ducal seat was at Friedenstein Castle. Built in the Thirty Years’ War, it was not only the earliest, but also the largest early Baroque castle complex in Germany. As the collections grew, so too did the desire for a prestigious new museum building. Next to the castle, therefore, in the heart of the oldest English garden on the continent, the Ducal Museum was built in an elegant and grandiose historicist style. Trümper emphasises that “rarely has courtly art and culture of the 17th to early 20th century reached the present day so intact and undamaged. There have been hardly any fires, no looting.” And just one robbery. But more about that later.

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Ducal Museum at the English Garden, Friedenstein Palace in the background, ©Marcus Glahn, Schatzkammer Thüringen

When the museum was opened in 1879, more than 100,000 items were shown. The absence of a storage facility meant that the entire collection was displayed to the public. The consequence: overflowing rooms. The building was completely renovated 2013, and the rooms now look a lot more airy. Out of around 1.1 million exhibits, “only” around six hundred are on view. That’s still a lot. So we have asked Trümper for his top 10.

The eternally relevant topic of love

The Japanese lacquerware mentioned above is one highlight. Another is the Gotha Altarpiece: “with 162 panels, it is one of the most visually stunning exhibits of the Reformation era”. Heinrich Füllmaurer’s treatment of Jesus’ life and works is truly imposing, a comic strip with serious content, even if its large dimensions make it difficult to read. It is easier to get a close look at the nearby world-famous “Gotha Lovers”, a mysterious and artistically outstanding painting pre-dating Dürer. Why is it so valuable? “There are few pictures from that period. Furthermore, it is very well preserved, representative, extremely skilful, and the topic of love is timeless in any case.” Do the depicted lovers represent a realistic image of a love affair at the court or an idealised version? “There are always new interpretations; fascination with the painting does not diminish.”

The collection of paintings as a whole: a who’s who of old German and Dutch painters, including Frans Hals, Holbein, van Goyen, Tischbein and Caspar David Friedrich. However, the star is Lucas Cranach the Elder with numerous principal works. Specifically: “Allegory of Law and Grace”; “Judith with the head of Holofernes”, a prime example of Protestant propaganda; and “Christ and Mary”, another candidate for Trümper’s top 10. “The technique that was used to paint on the parchment is spectacular in itself! A prototype for depictions of Jesus.”

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Picture gallery with panel altar and the “Gotha Lovers”, ©Lutz Ebhardt, Friendstein Foundation Gotha

Adam, Eve and the “Muscleman”

Thanks to modern staging – varying wall colours, stylish lighting, little distraction – the artworks generally make a big impact. Some are intrinsically big. For example the Adriaen de Vries’ bronze “Farnese bull”, a masterpiece of pictorial art. All kinds of mythological figures and allusions can be found in the intricate sculpture. Three times smaller and reduced to just two people, Conrad Meit’s nude model of Adam and Eve, which is more than 500 years old and made of boxwood, is “a sexually charged depiction, a fantastic work of art”. Jean-Antoine Houdon also makes it into the top 10 exhibits; Gotha is home to the world’s largest collection of his works outside France. How did that come about? Friendship! The sculptor once sent Duke Ernest II three crates full of sculptures, pictures and coins. Today, 22 original works by Houdon can be seen in the museum. The statue of the “Muscleman” is considered to be so accurate that it has been copied several times and consulted for a study of anatomy at art colleges.

Another candidate for the top 10 is the wonderfully preserved bell crater. The clay gift to the ducal house shows a banquet featuring Dionysus. Trümper’s verdict: “Typical of a royal collection because it is a high-quality individual item and reflects the private interest in antiquity of one of Gotha’s princes.” This is also true of the Egyptian Department as a whole, which deserves its “especially valuable” rating. Not because of individual artefacts – including animal mummies, amulets and sarcophagi – but because it is one of the oldest Egyptian collections in Europe and a lot of academic scoops have taken place in this environment. The 18th century cork models of ancient structures delight people not only with their aesthetic appearance, but also with the accurate depiction of Roman sites and ruins. Worthy of an award: the Arch of Constantine.

Art theft with a happy ending

That completes the top 10. Trümper looks disappointed. What about the 16th century majolica, the 18th century Meissen porcelain, the collection of fans, and the six figures from the commedia dell’arte? In any case, there are umpteen more anecdotes to tell about the ducal family, which ascended to the top ranks of Europe’s nobility when Queen Victoria married Albert in 1840. The one about East Germany’s biggest art theft is a must. In 1979, thieves stole paintings worth around five million euros in today’s money, including paintings by Frans Hals and Jan Brueghel. For 40 years, they were considered to be lost, until they unexpectedly turned up in 2019. They can now once again be admired in Gotha. Which is celebrated in the visitors’ book.

Cover picture: ©Lutz Ebhardt, Friedenstein Stiftung Gotha