The Alte Nationalgalerie is regarded as a comprehensive collection of art of the era between the French Revolution and the First World War, between Classicism and Secessions. The harmonious relationship between the museum building and its collection is unique: designed under the auspices of Heinrich Strack according to plans by August Stüler, the gallery was built in the years 1867 to 1876. The collection it houses today, one of the most beautiful of its kind, originates from the same century. Hence, a tour through the museum offers a profound insight into the art of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Adolph Menzel's paintings, among them such important works as "The Balcony Room" and the "Iron Rolling Mill", reveal the artist as an unremitting observer who, picking up important subjects of Prussian history, simultaneously displays stupendous imagination and a fine sense of coloring. Among the 19th-century sculptures are such famous works as the two princesses by Johann Gottfried Schadow as well as works by Berthel Thorwaldsen, Antonio Canova, Ridolfo Schadow, Reinhold Begas, Adolf von Hildebrand, and Constantin Meunier.
The collection also contains rich holdings of high-quality Impressionist paintings. Masterpieces by Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne; and sculptures by Auguste Rodin were purchased at an early date.
Painting of the second half of the 19th century is abundantly represented with works by Hans Thoma, Anselm Feuerbach, Arnold Böcklin, Hans von Marées, Wilhelm Leibl, and Wilhelm Trübner. Further, the Alte Nationalgalerie presents its large collection of paintings by Max Liebermann.