„Displaced Objects“ -- Das Werk des Johann Moritz Rugendas (1802-1858) zwischen Kunst, Dokumentation und politischer Vereinnahmung.

In 1821 the painter Johann Moritz Rugendas (1802-1858) was appointed to the scientific expedition of the naturalist Baron Georg Heinrich von Langsdorff (1774-1852) to Brazil. On this journey (1822-1825) Rugendas, who was member of a traditional artist family from Augsburg and academically trained, turned towards landscape and genre painting. Due to the support of Alexander von humboldt, who considered him the best illustrator of the "physiognomy of landscapes", 252 paintings from his second trip to America (1831-1846) were bought by the Royal national Gallery in Berlin (Königliche nationalgalerie). The different view on the collection in the course of the XIX century shows, how the work of Rugendas became lost in art history, being considered neither art nor documentation. For the opus of Rugendas it could be shown how he was seen as a representative of Mexican indigenism in 1926 and used for national socialist purposes in 1942. It seems as if the lack of localization enhances the interpretation and misuse (Vereinnahmung) of artworks in different political contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]