BERLIN -This exhibition is dedicated to the bicentenary of one of the most important acquisitions of this museum, the more than three thousand paintings that once belonged to the English dealer Edward Solly (1776–1844). These included both established masterpieces and lesser-known paintings, some of them remaining mysterious to this day.

In the early 19th century, an unprecedented collection of paintings was created in Berlin, which was to become the basis of the gallery in the Royal Museum, which opened in 1830. The English merchant Edward Solly (1776–1844) had made a lot of money trading grain and wood and invested it in pictures of all kinds. In his Berlin years alone, between 1813 and 1818, he brought together over three thousand paintings, mainly from Italy, Germany and the Netherlands.

The special thing about it: Many of these pictures were made by until then little known but now highly valued artists such as Giotto, Botticelli, Jan van Eyck or Jan Gossart. The creation of this enormous collection was only possible because of the disintegration of the market and ownership of the post-revolutionary period. It was only after long negotiations that the Solly collection was acquired in 1821 - an invaluable stroke of luck for the Berlin museums.

The exhibition will honor the often underrated, cosmopolitan and art-loving collector Solly as well as the founders of the Royal Museum, above all Karl Friedrich Schinkel, who laid the foundation for a world-class public art collection.

Using selected works, the exhibition presents the complexity and breadth of the Solly Collection and illuminates the change in the appreciation of individual pieces from various aspects. On display are masterpieces, rediscoveries and - as it was called in 1830 - "historical curiosities".

A catalog will be published to accompany the exhibition, which explains the development of the collection and the acquisition negotiations, and presents this outstanding acquisition in its historical context.

The Solly Collection 1821–2021. From the picture “chaos” to the picture gallery | 3.11.2021 - 16.1.2022

Girolamo Romanino, Salome with the head of John the Baptist, around 1516/1517 © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Jörg P. Anders

Giotto di Bondone, The Crucifixion of Christ, around 1315/1320 © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Volker-H. cutter

Jan Gossart, Neptune and Amphitrite, 1516 © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Jörg P. Anders

Paul Bril, Mountainous seashore, around 1624 © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Christoph Schmidt / Paul Bril.