Beginning with the reign of King Ludwig I of Bavaria in 1825, Munich attracted artists and architects from around the world, in large part because of its art museums, galleries, international expositions, as well as the exhibition techniques employed in them. Kathleen Curran’s lecture examines the origins and development of Munich as a world famous “city of art” (Kunststadt) in the period from 1825 to the turn of this century. Munich’s reputation as an artistic capital persisted well into the early twentieth century, as it gave rise to reformist groups such as the Munich Secession, as well as to exhibition strategies of the modern art museum.

Kathleen Curran is professor of Fine Arts at Trinity College. Her book The Romanesque Revival: Religion, Politics, and Transnational Exchange (Penn State Press, 2003), traces the origins of this style of architecture and mural painting in Rome, Karlsruhe, and the Munich of Ludwig I and charts its spread from Germany to London and the United States. Curran is currently working on a book that examines the coming of age of American art museums, tracing their origins to Germany in the late nineteenth century.