Dreaming of Raphael: The Politics and Aesthetics of the Michael-Beer-Stiftung for Jewish Artists

Abstract:In his will, the poet and playwright Michael Beer (1800–1833) provided an endowment for a prize to support Jewish painters and sculptors to travel to Italy for one year. The grant was placed under the auspices of the Berlin Academy of Art and awarded from 1836 to 1921. This essay focusses on the establishment of the prize, exploring the mindset and motivations of the donor, situated in their historical, social, and ideological contexts. It opens insights into early nineteenth-century Jewish-Christian networks, as well as into contemporary views on national art and the aesthetics of the classical tradition, private patronage and public institutions, Jewish emancipation, antisemitism, and civil rights.