Joachim Heinrich Wilhelm Wagener
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Joachim Heinrich Wilhelm Wagener (16 July 1782 in Berlin – 18 January 1861 in Berlin) was a German banker and patron of the arts. His collection formed the initial nucleus of the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin.[1]
Art collection
Wagener's collection started in 1815 when he acquired Karl Friedrich Schinkel's "Gothic Church on a Cliff by the Sea". His collection grew to include a number of landscapes which Wagener had commissioned or purchased, including works by German and international artists.[2]
Wagener allowed the public to view his collection and commissioned the writing of catalogues.[1]
In his 1859 will, Wagener left a gift to the Prussian Crown of his art collection on the condition that it form the basis for the creation of a national gallery.[1] Accordingly, when he died in 1861, 262 works were bequeathed to the Crown,[2] at that time the largest collection of contemporary painting in the world.[3] The donation led to the opening of the National Gallery in Berlin the same year.[3]
