As part of the series of exhibitions on the ‘Cult of the Artist’ the Old National Gallery (Nationalgalerie) in Berlin will be presenting three special exhibitions. ‘Artistic myths. The 19th century’ investigates the recurring themes of the depiction of the self and the artist’s existence in relation to others in the 19th century: the artists view with one another in an idealized way, showing off their archaeological and art historical roots from Classical Antiquity through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance and presenting themselves as busy in the studio and in the same company as their greatest creations. Portraits of the self and of the self with companions have always played a great role here; and yet the inquisitorial self-questioning and the organization of individuals into artists’ associations count as one of the central phenomena of the art system. This exhibition will be made subject for discussion, as being not only a trend that has always occurred throughout European history but which was also brought to a head in the Renaissance. The European myth is put into artistic perspective.
