Redisplaying the German collection | Curator's hour

Discover the rich and varied paintings from German-speaking lands that live in the National Gallery, with a refreshed perspective.

Spanning several centuries, our German collection reflects dramatic shifts in artistic practice: from religious allegories and devotional images to strikingly realistic portraiture. Following the publication of the collection catalogue of German Paintings before 1800 by Susan Foister, and as part of our Bicentenary year, the Gallery re-thought the entirety of our collection and how we display remarkable works from Lucas Cranach the Elder’s ‘Cupid complaining to Venus’ to Hans Holbein the Younger’s iconic ‘The Ambassadors’.

At this online Members’ event and Q&A, Christine Seidel, Associate Curator (Renaissance Painting), joins art historian Matthew Morgan for a fascinating discussion of these pictures, how the curatorial team reimagined their display, and the impacts of their rehang as part of ‘C C Land: The Wonder of Art’.

Christine Seidel is Associate Curator of Renaissance Painting, supported by The Rothschild Foundation. Prior to joining the National Gallery in January 2024, she held fellowships at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museo Nacional del Prado and was assistant curator at the Gemäldegalerie and the Bode Museum in Berlin and Stuttgart.

Dr Matthew Morgan is a freelance art historian, educator and museum professional. Until recently he was the Museum Director of Turner's House, and he is also an Associate Lecturer at Birkbeck, University of London. He has worked in the heritage sector for over 10 years, including at the Royal Collection, the National Gallery and the Wallace Collection. Prior to that he was a Director in Christie’s Valuation Department. He has contributed to TV documentaries, podcasts, radio shows and has lectured widely across the country and made a series of short films which can be seen on YouTube.

A recording of this event will be made available to all ticket holders in the days following the event.

This recording will be available for one month.

Automatic closed captioning is available for this event.