Object of the Month 03/2026
A particularly large part of the art collection comprises views of Berlin and depictions of the university buildings at different times. The oldest vedute of Berlin date from the end of the 17th century, with Johann Stridbeck the Younger’s drawings Die Stadt Berlin im Jahre 1690, but most of them originate from the 18th century – it was not until the unification of Berlin and Cölln to form the Residenzstadt in 1709 that the city acquired its splendid appearance in the course of the century with many representative buildings, which now attracted interest in many travel reports, letters and literary as well as pictorial representations at home and abroad. The veduta, stage and decorative painter Johann Georg Rosenberg (1738-1808), active in Paris and at various German courts, took advantage of this boom. Between 1773 and 1785, he created a series of 21 etchings of stage-like prospectuses of Berlin streets, palaces, churches and squares. 20 hand-coloured etchings (plus title page) in folio format were published in 1786 by Johann Marino & Co. under the title Receuil des Prospects les plus beaux et les plus intéressants de Berlin. The great success of this publication led to various further versions, which differ greatly in size, print quality and colouring. The Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings) of the National Museums in Berlin owns particularly high-quality sheets. These were reproduced in a facsimile edition in 1995, together with a detailed contemporary description of the structural, cultural, social and economic conditions of Berlin by Friedrich Nicolai, a Berlin writer and publisher (Beschreibung der Königlichen Residenzstädte Berlin und Potsdam, aller daselbst befindlichen Merkwürdigkeiten und der umliegenden Gegend, Berlin 1786).
Of the twenty sheets of these reproductions that are in the art collection, two are singled out here that show, among other things, the Palace of Prince Heinrich (the later main building of the university) and the Royal Library (the “Kommode”).
Prince Heinrich’s Palace is shown in the illustration on sheet II (1780) as the second building on the right behind the armoury at the beginning of the boulevard Unter den Linden.
It is clearly visible through the two wings around the forecourt. Opposite, you can see the Opera House and what is now called the Old Palace (Altes Palais) – at the time of the depiction, this building was occupied by Luise Amalie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1722-1780), the widow of Prince August Wilhelm of Prussia, the eldest brother of the reigning King Frederick II. That he had already intervened in the urban topography with the architectural restructuring in favour of the Forum Fridericianum is, however, only indirectly clear: the Royal Library attached to the palace, which on sheet XI (1782) prominently closes off the view of the square to the right, the garden and rear building fell victim.
Since Rosenberg dedicated the print to Frederick II, the building at the corner of Unter den Linden is cut and the ensemble around the library, opera house and Hedwigskirche church is staged with its impression of a forum.
With their accuracy in rendering architectural details and topographical layouts, Rosenberg’s etchings not only document historical Berlin at the end of the 18th century, but also allow a comparative view of buildings that we can still admire today, at least in part, despite the destruction of the Second World War.
Author: Christina Kuhli
