ART COLLECTION OF THE CASA DI GOETHE

Since 2017, the Photographic Collection has been photographing and cataloging the art collection of the Casa di Goethe in a long-term campaign. The Casa di Goethe in Rome is the only German museum abroad. Opened to the public in 1997, it is located in the rooms that Johann Wolfgang von Goethe occupied during his stay in Rome from November 1786 to April 1788, together with the painters J. H. W. Tischbein, F. Bury and J. G. Schütz. As early as 1987, a start was made on building up an art collection for the museum, which was at the time in the planning stage. In addition to a few valuable paintings, such as the famous picture of Goethe by Andy Warhol, the collection consists primarily of drawings and prints. The focus of the collection is Goethe's Italian Journey and its reception; works by German painters of his circle of friends, such as Tischbein, J. P. Hackert and C. H. Kniep are also included. Another focus is on contemporary German and Italian artists' perspectives on Goethe and the Italian journey today. The approximately 1,200 printed sheets form the most extensive part of the museum's holdings, which also include valuable drawings. The Casa di Goethe hosts a Goethe special library and the historical library of the Deutscher Künstlerverein in Rom (German Artists' Association in Rome).