Restitution of a lost painting to the SPK
Press release from 09/23/2025
On 23 September, the Belgian House of Representatives returned a painting by Friedrich Nerly to the SPK. It belonged to the collection of the Alte Nationalgalerie of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and was previously considered a loss as a result of the Second World War
The painting "SS. Giovanni e Paolo in Venice" is one of the most important works by the German painter Friedrich Nerly (1807-1878) and shows a view of the Basilica of Santi Giovanni in Venice. After intensive research by Sophie Wittemans, curator of the art collection of the "Palace of the Nation", the seat of the Belgian House of Representatives, it emerged that the painting was loaned from the Old National Gallery to the German embassy in Brussels in 1936, from where it disappeared after the Second World War and ended up in the Belgian House of Representatives in the 1950s via the Secwester Service. She also discovered Nerly's signature and date - well concealed as an inscription on a gondola. The SPK's entry on lostart.de, where the painting had been reported as lost, helped to identify it.
On 23 September, the important painting was handed over to Gero Dimter, Vice President of the SPK, and Anette Hüsch, Director of the Alte Nationalgalerie, by Chamber President Peter De Roover in the presence of the German Ambassador to Belgium.
Gero Dimter, Vice-President of the SPK, says: "It is always a special moment when a work that was long thought lost returns. The SPK has not only restituted a number of works, but has also suffered painful wartime losses. We are therefore extremely pleased that the careful provenance research of the Belgian House of Representatives and the decision of the President of the Chamber have led to the return of one of these missing works to our collection."
Chamber President Peter De Roover explained: "Most of us have walked past this painting at one time or another. Sometimes hastily, sometimes more slowly, or pausing briefly to admire the beautiful view of Venice. I think it's a bit of a shame that this beautiful painting is leaving the House of Representatives, but it's still an honour and a pleasure to see it return home."
Anette Hüsch, Director of the Alte Nationalgalerie, explains: "The Alte Nationalgalerie is very pleased about this surprising return! It is an extremely generous gesture on the part of the Belgian parliament, fuelled by the spirit of friendship. Our heartfelt thanks go to the many committed people who wanted and realised this restitution on the Belgian side. Nerly's work is something of an early birthday present for the Alte Nationalgalerie: when our museum opened on Museum Island in 1876, it had its place in the collection for a long time. Next year, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of its building, the Alte Nationalgalerie will be in the spotlight on Museum Island - and the work will once again be one of our treasures!"
About Friedrich Nerly
Born in Erfurt in 1807, Friedrich Nerly grew up after the early death of his father in 1815 with his uncle in Hamburg, who recognised and encouraged his artistic talent. He became an apprentice in the lithographic workshop of Heinrich Joachim Herterich and Johann Michael Speckter. It was there that the young Nerly met the patron Baron Carl Friedrich von Rumohr (1785-1843). The encounter with the widely travelled and well-connected art historian, art educator and amateur artist had a formative influence on Nerly. From 1823, Rumohr took the 16-year-old in for further training at his Rothenhausen estate near Lübeck.
In 1827, Nerly accompanied his mentor on a trip through Germany, including to Dresden and Munich. They visited Goethe in Weimar. In spring they travelled to Italy. As Rumohr had to return to Germany, Nerly arrived in Rome in December 1828 without his patron. From there, the painter travelled to various regions of Italy in the following years. The artist, who was born with the name "Nehrlich", henceforth called himself "Nerly".
Nerly visited Venice in 1837. The city by the sea with its magnificent buildings, old palaces, churches and squares, with its numerous bridges and canals, must have fascinated him. In January 1838, Nerly moved into a flat in the Palazzo Pisani on Campo San Stefano, where he would live, work and receive guests for over forty years. He successfully specialised in Venetian cityscapes. The view of the "Piazzetta in Venice by moonlight" became his most famous and most sought-after work. Nerly not only portrayed well-known buildings and squares, he was one of the first to paint the lagoon, the still undeveloped Lido and many inconspicuous corners of Venice. He became the most prominent foreign painter based in Venice. Nerly not only invented a new image of the lagoon city, but also established Venetian open-air painting.
"SS. Giovanni e Paolo in Venice"
In this large-format, representative painting, the painter has placed a view of the church of SS. Giovanni e Paolo (also known as San Zanipolo) in the centre. The almost 100 metre long building is one of the largest and most important buildings of Venetian Gothic architecture. It became the burial place of the Doges. To the left of the church is the magnificent façade of the Scuola di San Marco, built around 1500. On the right, in the square in front of the buildings, the bronze equestrian monument to Condottiere Bartolommeo Colleoni by Andrea del Verrocchio stands on a high pedestal, bathed in sunlight. Traders with ships and boats are travelling along the canal and gondolas are moored on the embankment. The square is bustling with activity, with several visitors flocking to the entrance of the church. Nerly has subtly captured the richly decorated façades of the historic buildings in the alternation of light and shadow. Under an almost cloudless blue sky, the splendour and dignity of Venice's historic buildings unfold.
With the note in the catalogue: "In the possession of His Majesty the King" (cat. 1249), the painting was shown at the Berlin Academy Exhibition in 1850. A year earlier, in 1849, the year of its completion, Frederick William IV had acquired the work. It is possible that the painting was ordered from the artist by the king, who had visited Venice in 1828 and was deeply impressed by it. In 1876, the painting was transferred from the imperial and royal collection to the museum on the occasion of the opening of the National Gallery on Museum Island (cf. NG-Kat. 1876, p. 148).
Press photos:https://www.preussischer-kulturbesitz.de/newsroom/presse/pressebilder.html