Solo show
Wilhelm Hasemann and the Invention of the Black Forest
22 Jul 2023 — 24 Mar 2024 at Augustiner Museum
· Freiburg im Breisgau
This exhibition at the Augustiner Museum in Freiburg shines a spotlight on Wilhelm Hasemann (1850–1913), one of the most influential painters in the cultural history of the Black Forest region.
Hasemann's idyllic scenes of rural life, traditional costume, and sweeping forest landscapes did more than document a place — they actively constructed a myth. His imagery helped forge the popular image of the Black Forest as a timeless, picturesque homeland, an idea that shaped tourism, regional identity, and visual culture for generations.
The show invites visitors to reconsider how a single artist's vision can define the perception of an entire landscape, and asks how much of what we think we know about the Black Forest is, in fact, an invention.
Hasemann's idyllic scenes of rural life, traditional costume, and sweeping forest landscapes did more than document a place — they actively constructed a myth. His imagery helped forge the popular image of the Black Forest as a timeless, picturesque homeland, an idea that shaped tourism, regional identity, and visual culture for generations.
The show invites visitors to reconsider how a single artist's vision can define the perception of an entire landscape, and asks how much of what we think we know about the Black Forest is, in fact, an invention.
About the artist
Wilhelm Hasemann
1850–1913
Wilhelm Hasemann was a German genre painter and illustrator.
About the artist →About the venue
Augustiner Museum
· Freiburg im Breisgau
The Augustiner Museum is a museum in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany located in the former Augustinian Monastery building. It is undergoing an extensive renovation and expansion, the first phase of which ended in 2010.