Picture gallery, Johann Michael Bretschneider, 1702

Picture gallery. Oil on canvas. The precursors of museums were private galleries of the nobility. The painted gallery as a pictorial type arose in the early 17th c. This late example depicts an imaginary collection. As customary in the 18th c. The close hanging and symmetric arrangement of the works follow decorative principles. The entire thematic repertoire of painting is presented in a triumphant display. Painting can represent everything and thus surpasses all other genres in the arts. The foreground figures are engaged in a scholarly discussion on art. Object Type: painting. Genre: genre art. Date: 1702. Place of creation: Prague. Dimensions: height: 195.1 cm (76.8 in) ; width: 342.4 cm (11.2 ft). Medium: oil on canvas. Collection: Germanisches Nationalmuseum. 1702 Bretschneider Gemaeldegalerie anagoria