The new exhibition “Nature and Antiquity. The Romantic Friedrich Nerly in Rome” at the Kunsthalle Bremen brings to life a painter’s fascination with the light and forms of Italy. Friedrich Nerly moved to Italy at the age of 21, where he worked in Rome, Tivoli and Olevano and created impressive drawings and watercolours on extensive journeys to Naples and Sicily. These vivid studies of nature served as the basis for his paintings, in which Nerly captured a sun-drenched, Mediterranean atmosphere and reflected the longing of many Romantic artists for the south.
A particular highlight of the exhibition is the restored “Campagna Landscape with Aqua Claudia” from 1836, whose impressive depiction of the ancient aqueduct ruins is on public display again for the first time. The painting marks the beginning of a new way of looking at monumental buildings and illustrates Nerly’s importance for the development of Romantic landscape painting. The exhibition is complemented by works by Blechen, Piranesi, Schirmer and Spitzweg as well as a series of photographs by Hans-Christian Schink, which builds a bridge to the present and raises topical questions about cultural heritage and water supply — issues that are particularly relevant in times of climate change.
