Rediscovered: Nineteenth Century German Painting in Victoria’s Public Collections Dr Beatrix Ahrens, University of Freiburg, Germany It seems like nowhere else outside Europe German paintings of the second half of the 19th century have been as popular as in Victoria. From the 1870s to the 1890s a surprisingly large number of German paintings were imported to Australia, yet many of these works of art have never been adequately researched. They often lie undiscovered in storage, some paintings are even threatened by decay. This lecture, for the first time, gives an overview of German 19th century paintings in Victorian public collections. The term ‘German paintings’ refers to paintings by German-speaking artists and also includes paintings by artists who migrated to Australia. The starting point of my lecture is the historical environment that influenced the collection of German paintings in Australia. Important aspects are the emigration of German artists from the middle of the 19th…