The German Art Museum and the History of the Nation

It is no coincidence that we associate the emergence of the art museum with the French Revolution. Even though the yearning for a German nation-state is older, it has only been a manifestly political demand since the early nineteenth century. Historical reflection on the German nation had already begun in the eighteenth century, and indeed had occurred sporadically since the beginning of the sixteenth century. It was not until after the French Revolution and the Wars of Liberation, however, that we witness a serious contemplation of national history.3