This opulent catalog is the first major publication to cover the principal estate of Erfurt-born landscape painter Friedrich Nerly (1807–1878). The extensive collection arrived in Erfurt shortly after his death and led to the founding of the Angermuseum. The substantial group of paintings and oil studies, together with a corpus of drawings, have made it possible to explore every facet of the painter’s work. Initially, his life’s journey took him to Hamburg to study art under Carl Friedrich von Rumohr, who travelled to Italy with his pupil soon afterwards. There, Nerly found a new adopted home and created some spectacular oil studies while in Rome. However, he spent his key creative phase as a “celebre pittore” in Venice, the most successful foreign artist painting for an international market. As a trendsetter, he invented the Venice by moonlight painting.

Look inside

• Nerly and the invention of a new image of Venice
• Successful artistic career denoted by mobility and the start of globalization
• Oil studies from Olevano, Terracina and Tivoli – highpoints of an emerging genre
• Exhibition, Angermuseum Erfurt, November 17, 2024 to July 20, 2025