TREASURES OF GERMAN JEWELLERY OF THE 16TH CENTURY
Collection Rudolf-August Oetker

The Fondation Bemberg has created a true event. Indeed, this summer, it has the rare privilege to present for the first time in France, masterpieces of German jewellery from the exceptional collection of Rudolf-August Oetker. It has only been shown twice in Germany and is already considered to be a revelation to the French public.

The choice of nearly fifty pieces created by the greatest master jewellers and goldsmiths from Nuremberg, Augsburg, Hamburg, Dresden and Berlin give us a glimpse of the splendour of the art of living of the German nobility and high bourgeoisie in the 16th century. These objects were used during the major ceremonies and receptions and met the taste the German princes at the time had for fantasy and pomp when seeking to impress their guests. The creators of these treasures rivalled in imagination to express all their know-how and talent. As a result, the cups made in the form of ships, windmills or even well-known persons, combining ivory, mother-of-pearl or other natural and remarkable materials, represented to the eyes of their patrons the perfect synthesis of man’s nature and talent.

The works presented in the exhibition belong to the exceptional collection of Rudolf-August Oetker (1916-2007), a collection that includes not only German paintings and tapestries, but German porcelain as well. The Oetker Group is a multinational company that works in various fields. It all started in 1891 in Germany in a drugstore in Bielefeld. A young pharmacist by the name of August Oetker developed a ready-to-use, powdered yeast that became the building block of one of the most ancient and renowned brands in Germany.

The exhibition echoes the Renaissance period Georges Bemberg so admired, and is in line with the Fondation’s collection of jewellery, the one of bronzes or even the one of paintings signed by Clouet or Cranach among others. A relentless collector, Georges Bemberg focused his whole life on buying works that went from the 16th to the middle of the 20th centuries – with a clear preference for Bonnard – his Fondation today is that collection. In 1995, when he was looking for a venue that could host his collection, the city of Toulouse made available to him the most beautiful Renaissance ‘pastelier’ hotel in the city, the Hôtel d’Assézat.

Under the current chairman Guillermo de Osma, the Fondation Bemberg continues to enrich itself with new acquisitions, such as the sumptuous piece of furniture by Thomas Hache or the two paintings by Nicolas Tournier disputed to the National Gallery of Washington D.C. This second summer exhibition on the theme of prestigious private collections corresponds perfectly to the wish of Georges Bemberg to share his passion for collecting and serving art.