Friedrich Nerly: Masterpieces and Secrets of a Romantic Painter

Friedrich Nerly: Masterpieces and Secrets of a Romantic Painter

On Friday, June 13, 2025, a special event will take place at TU Ilmenau dedicated to new insights into the work of Friedrich Nerly. The art historian Prof. Dr. phil. Kai Uwe Schierz will give a lecture at 3:00 p.m. in the Faraday lecture hall of the Faraday Building. Admission to this lecture is 5 euros and offers an exciting opportunity to learn more about one of the most important German plein air painters. The TU Ilmenau informs about the aim of the event, which is based on four years of research and conservation of oil studies and paintings by Nerly.

Friedrich Nerly was born in Erfurt in 1807 and died in Venice in 1878. As a romantic painter, he is considered a pioneer of plein air painting. After his death, he left his pictures to his hometown, which were presented in a collection in the newly founded Erfurt Municipal Museum in 1886. The art historian Schierz will honor Nerly not only for his art, but also for his innovative aesthetics, which he developed during his time in Rome and Venice.

From childhood to artist

After his father's death in 1815, Nerly was raised by his uncle, who was a musician and encouraged Nerly's artistic talent. He received drawing lessons from his aunt and later from Heinrich Joachim Herterich, who took him into his lithographic workshop. These early years had a decisive influence on Nerly, as he was already in the family of Johann Michael Speckters, a friend of Philipp Otto Runge. In 1823 he became a student of the patron Carl Friedrich von Rumohr, who taught him the importance of the “perpetual study of real nature”.

In the summer of 1827, Nerly accompanied Rumohr on a trip through the Harz Mountains and to Italy. During the trip he also met the famous poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in Weimar. At the end of 1828 he decided to stay in Rome and changed his name to Nerly to assimilate more Italian. There he took over the management of the Cervaro Festival until 1835, which made him known in the artistic community.

Artistic highlights and legacy

After Nerly moved to Venice in the late 1830s, he became famous for his views of the city, particularly his depictions of the “Piazetta by Moonlight,” which he painted 36 times. This style is considered to be the invention of the Venetian moonlight painting. In Venice he married Agathe Alginovich and became a member of the Venice Art Academy. Particularly noteworthy is the rediscovery and appreciation of his artistic legacy by the Angermuseum in Erfurt, which shows around 200 of his works, many of which are presented publicly for the first time.

Nerly was awarded the Knight's Cross 1st Class of the Order of the Württemberg Crown in 1852 and was henceforth able to use the nobility title “von”. His artistic estate was bequeathed to the city of Erfurt in 1883 by his son Friedrich Paul Nerly, which led to the founding of the Angermuseum. This was opened in 1886 and a street in Erfurt still bears his name today. Friedrich Nerly was buried in the Protestant part of the San Michele cemetery in Venice, where many artists find their final resting place.

The upcoming exhibition and lecture in Ilmenau are part of an ongoing effort to honor the art and influence of Friedrich Nerly on landscape painting. It is a commemoration of an artist whose work continues to be reassessed and appreciated. Further information is available on the website TU Ilmenau available.