Sanssouci Picture Gallery

The Picture Gallery {Bildergalerie} in the park of Sanssouci palace in Potsdam was built in 1755–1764 during the reign of Frederick II of Prussia under the supervision of Johann Gottfried Büring. The Picture Gallery is situated east of the palace and is the oldest extant museum built for a ruler in Germany.

Frederick II was a passionate collector of paintings. In his youth, he preferred the contemporary French art of the Rococo, and the walls of his rooms in Sanssouci were adorned with paintings of his favorite artist Antoine Watteau. After his accession to the throne in 1740, the king became increasingly interested in history paintings, which were highly regarded at his time. Especially, he collected works of renaissance, mannerism and Baroque art, mostly from Italian and Flemish artists. Due to the opening of the Altes Museum in Berlin in 1829, about fifty paintings were transferred there. Among these were the Leda by Correggio, three paintings by Rembrandt, some by Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, and Antoine Watteau. Also, all the marble statues were moved.

In 1929-1930, the Picture Gallery was set up again, and 120 of the 159 works marked in the catalogue as purchased by Frederick returned from Berlin.

During World War II, all the paintings were moved to Rheinsberg Palace in Rheinsberg. Only ten paintings returned from there in 1946, and most of the pictures seemed lost. However, a large collection of paintings confiscated by the Soviet Union was returned in 1958. However, some of the pictures are still in Russian collections.

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