Morgenstern ja Liphart. Kahe kunstitähe tegutsemisest samas ajas ja ruumis: Morgenstern and Liphart. Encounters of Two Art Stars Sharing a Time and Space

Abstract

What do we know about and how can we describe the encountersbetween Karl Morgenstern and the Lipharts, the Raadi lords of themanor, who were the greatest art collectors in 19th century Tartu/Dorpat?Published sources give the impression that Morgenstern and theLipharts had virtually no interaction, Morgenstern’s name does notappear very often in the biography of the Lipharts, and vice versa.In Morgenstern’s diaries, Raadi manor (Ratshof) appears as thedestination of his frequent walks, just like Kadriorg in Tallinn, butnothing more personal emerges from it. However, Morgenstern probablyknew which paintings belonged to the Lipharts, and some ofthem were of great interest to him. At least he published his opinionon two of the paintings by Johann Dominik von Fiorillo that belongedto the Lipharts’ art collection. The replica of the portrait of RectorParrot painted by F. G. von Kügelgen for R. W. von Liphart wasalso probably mediated by Morgenstern. There is some evidence thatMorgenstern and Liphart shared information about subscriptions forprints and art bulletins.What did the Lipharts think and know about the art collectedby Morgenstern, either for his private collection or the university?There is no written evidence of their opinions, no facts or stories ofthe Lipharts visiting Morgenstern’s art collection. Karl Eduard vonLiphart, who later became a great connoisseur of prints and Italianrenaissance art, may have used the possibility to train his eye lookingat prints at the University of Tartu Art Museum in his youth. However,this remains only a guess.During the lifetime of Karl Morgenstern, the university art museum’scollection was formed according to his personal tastes and ideas. It is intriguing that after Morgenstern’s death, the focus of the collection was shifted and the influence of the Lipharts became more prominent. In 1858 curator G. F. von Bradke formed a committee tore-evaluate the collections of the University of Tartu Art Museum,and K. E. von Liphart became the only external member of the body.Although he is more known for his marvellous prints, K. E. von Liphartalso collected plaster casts that filled his house at Lai Street30 in Tartu. Most probably his knowledge and ideas about this subjectalso influenced the committee’s final decision—collecting plastercasts of ancient art became the main focus of the university museum.The combination of antique sculpture and wall paintings fromPompeii had already been used in the interior of the Lipharts’ houselong before the Pompeian-style decoration was painted for the Universityof Tartu Art Museum in 1868. K. E. von Liphart’s special interestin photography, a state-of-the-art technology at that time, alsoleft its mark on the university’s collections. When Woldemar Krüger,who ran the university’s drawing school in the second half of the19th century, started commissioning photographic reproductions offamous artworks for instructional purposes, he relied mostly on theadvice and recommendations of his friend K. E. von Liphart.Thus, we may presume that even if there are not enough facts,it pays to search more closely for possible personal influences andimpact. Often, important changes may happen through local and intimatecontacts, not because of the twists and turns or grand ideas ofart history in general