Excursus: The birth of modern museum education

by Nikolas Maisch

In the various exhibitions of the count's collection – first in Wurzach, later in Vienna, and then in London – a new museum arrangement of paintings was tried out. The works were not only hung according to color or image format, but for the first time systematically according to geographical schools and chronological aspects. Such a structure was still extremely unusual in Central European galleries in the second half of the 18th century.

Until then, exhibitions had mostly followed Baroque traditions. The only thing that mattered here was the effect of the pictures in the room. The pompous character of private art collections played a major role, while art-historical understanding was still not very developed. The art dealer and copperplate engraver Christian von Mechel and his new ideas for public exhibition spaces and their role in art education changed this fundamentally. In 1778, he developed new plans for the Düsseldorf Picture Gallery. The aim now was to present art in its historical context and development. Shortly afterwards, in the early 1780s, Mechel also redesigned the imperial collection in the Upper Belvedere in Vienna and published a corresponding catalogue of paintings in 1783. As in Düsseldorf, this presented art systematically, replacing the baroque display room with an educational approach – an early example of modern museum work.

Several years earlier, the director of the Vienna Academy, Joseph von Rosa, had introduced a similar system in the Salzdahlum Collection near Braunschweig. He distinguished Italian masters according to their schools in Venice, Rome, or Florence. Mechel and Rosa exchanged ideas over the years – both wanted not only to display art, but also to make it understandable. Count Joseph was in contact with both of them when he planned to incorporate parts of his collection into the Austrian National Collection.

These changes also reflect the influence of the young discipline of art history, which was beginning to establish itself as an independent, scientific discipline at the time. Mechel was friends with the famous art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–1768), who is considered one of the founders of modern art history.

Both attempted to evaluate art not only according to aesthetic criteria, but also to understand it in its historical development. At the same time, there is even evidence of a connection between the art dealer and Baden: correspondence between Margravine Karoline Luise von Baden (1723–1783) and Christian von Mechel demonstrates both his extensive European network and his importance for the contemporary art market.

The close connection between the count, Mechel, and von Rosa is documented. The latter, for example, had personally viewed the count's collection and prepared an expert opinion for a possible purchase. Truchsess was familiar with Mechel's ideas from his time in Vienna. The adaptation of his own curatorial activities to these new exhibition systems shows that the count was familiar with the current ideas of his time and closely networked with the pioneers of a modern exhibition culture.

Continue reading here: The Truchsessian Picture Gallery

Citation: Nikolas Maisch, The Birth of Modern Museum Didactics, in: art&market. The Truchsessen Gallery in London and the English Art Market around 1800, URL: [...], as of June 2, 2025.