Brederlo Rooms

The exhibition can be seen on the 4th floor of the museum and offers a selection of paintings that give an insight into the extensive art collection of Friedrich Wilhelm Brederloh.

Friedrich Wilhelm Brederlo (1779–1862) was one of the most prominent
figures in 19th-century Baltic cultural life. He proved himself
as a talented wine merchant and a distinguished leader in
political and social life, holding the position of Elder of the
Grand Guild, Riga Town Ratmann and Chairman of the Riga
Stock Exchange Committee. Nevertheless it was his passion
for art collecting and patronage that secured Brederlo’s
notable place in cultural history. His collection of paintings,
which forms the “golden fund” of the Art Museum Riga
Bourse, has been in Riga for almost two centuries and is
one of the best in the Baltics, thanks to Brederlo’s taste and
knowledge as an art connoisseur.

Art collecting was not just a passion of Friedrich Wilhelm
Brederlo but a widespread activity among Baltic intellectuals,
with aesthetic and social significance. His father, Johann
David Brederlo, Duke of Courland Peter Byron’s wine steward,
and his maternal grandfather, Johann Gottlieb Groschke,
Duke Peter’s personal physician, also collected art. However,
Friedrich Wilhelm Brederlo’s collection marked a new stage
in the appreciation and aesthetics of works of art.

The Brederlo collection, unlike his ancestors’ tradition
of “kunstkammer” or “curiosity cabinets”, was oriented
towards the aesthetic enjoyment of art and not just en route
to exploring the world. The choice of each work of art in
his collection was based not only on the importance of the
artist’s name but also on the collector’s own taste.

Brederlo’s art collection was situated in his house on
Mazā Grēcinieku Street 1, where it was open to the public in
eight rooms. The works were grouped according to country,
chronology and spatial logic, creating the first art gallery
in Riga, which also served as an inspiration for the city’s
picture gallery.

This exhibition is not an attempt to recreate Brederlo’s
original rooms but off ers a more personal view of him as a
collector of 19th-century contemporary art. The fi rst room
is a selection of works that have a personal and emotional
connection to the collector himself. The second room is a
display of works whose manner and subject matter resonated
with Brederlo’s taste. The works once again suggest the
subjective judgement of each collector and the relentless
changes in art fashion trends. The third room shows Baltic
German and German artists known to the collector and whose
talents he respected and supported.

We invite you also to see works from the Brederlo
collection in the permanent exhibition of the museum in
the European Art Gallery.