About the Acquisition
In 1918, a century after the death of the museum’s founder, Johann Friedrich Städel, Johann Georg Clauer and his wife, residents of Frankfurt’s Westend district, carried on the tradition of patronage initiated by Städel: they donated fifteen works, which the museum was free either to add to its collection or to sell. The museum’s administration decided to keep five for the collection, while the proceeds from selling the other ten enabled it to purchase works such as this Doré painting “with funds from the bequest of Johann Georg Clauer and his wife”.