Today, the collecting and study of eighteenth-century German drawings has become a major focus for museums around the world. One of the finest collections, however, has been in California for 150 years. The superb drawings collected at The Crocker Art Museum, ranging from a Baroque altarpiece designed by Johann Georg Bergmüller to a Neoclassical mythology by Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, are exceptionally well preserved and provide a panorama of German draftsmen and draftsmanship throughout the eighteenth century.
The Splendor of Germany gathers a variety of dynamic landscapes, sensitive portraits, charming scenes of daily life, and religious and mythological narratives from the late Baroque to Neoclassicism. Published to coincide with the museum collection's 150th anniversary, this book collects seventy-five outstanding pieces from the exhibition in a commemorative volume.