In 2026, the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery) will honor Paul Cassirer (1871–1926), one of the most important art dealers of his time. The occasion is both the 100th anniversary of Cassirer’s death and the 150th anniversary of the Alte Nationalgalerie building on Museum Island in Berlin. The National Gallery’s collection is intricately linked to Cassirer’s work. The exhibition, featuring over 120 works of Impressionism and Classical Modernism, will showcase Paul Cassirer’s remarkable commitment to art.
Image avobe: Édouard Manet, Le Déjeuner, 1868 © Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen – Neue Pinakothek München, Foto: Sibylle Forster.
With his exceptionally prolific and continuous exhibition activity, the Berlin-based gallery owner Paul Cassirer significantly promoted the dissemination of French Impressionism in Germany. Artists such as Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Vincent van Gogh gained greater recognition in German-speaking countries through his work. Cassirer’s presentation of their art profoundly shaped the German cultural landscape and sparked passionate public debate. Numerous key works found their way into important German collections and museums through his mediation, including the holdings of the National Gallery.
Cassirer did not limit his involvement to promoting French art. He also championed German Impressionism and supported the Berlin Secession with artists such as Max Liebermann, Lovis Corinth, and Max Slevogt. At the same time, he promoted important pioneers of classical modernism like Edvard Munch and Auguste Gaul, while the young avant-garde, including Ernst Barlach, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Oskar Kokoschka, also found its way into his gallery’s program.
The exhibition traces this exceptionally far-sighted commitment and highlights Paul Cassirer as a crucial mediator between art, market and the public around 1900.
An extensively illustrated accompanying publication in German and English will be released by Hirmer Verlag to accompany the exhibition, edited for the Alte Nationalgalerie by Anette Hüsch, Josephine Klinger and Franziska Lietzmann.
A special exhibition of the Alte Nationalgalerie of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, made possible by the Friends of the Nationalgalerie. Supported by the Board of Trustees of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.
WHEN?
Opening: Thursday, 21. May 2026, 7 pm
Exhibition: Friday, 22. May – Sunday, 27. September 2026
WHERE?
Museumsinsel Berlin, Alte Nationalgalerie
Bodestr. 1-3
10178 Berlin
 will honor Paul Cassirer (1871–1926), one of the most important art dealers of his time. The occasion is both the 100th anniversary...Cultural news, art exhibitions + art events to discover.){kind=link}