Duke August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
An artist on the throne in Gotha
Duke August was regarded as both a colourful and difficult personality. Although he was a politically skilful ruler, he made a name for himself by establishing an intellectual and artistic milieu and network. A lover of Romanticism, Augustus was an artist, collector and ruler. He was egocentric, emotional and highly intelligent. He skilfully knew how to delegate government business to capable civil servants, for whose selection he had an unerring instinct. This gave him the freedom to pursue his many passions.
Born in 1772 as the second of four sons of Duke Ernst II and Duchess Charlotte Amalia, August became hereditary prince after the death of his elder brother and succeeded his father in 1804. Not even 50 years old, he died in 1822 after a short, serious illness.
“Duke Emil Leopold August […] is one of the most witty and interesting, but also one of the most whimsical and disruptive personalities who ever sat on a throne.”
Duke August as collector – artist – aesthete.
On the occasion of the exhibition “Luxury, Art & Imagination – Duke August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg as a Collector”, a film has been made that takes a close look at the Duke as a collector, artist, musician, man of letters and, quite fundamentally, as an aesthete – Prof. Martin Mulsow describes him as an “early dandy”.
The collector
For his time, his ideas were often as unusual as they were ground-breaking. For example, he secured one of the earliest collections of ancient Egyptian and oriental art in Europe for his house and established a Chinese Cabinet at the beginning of the 19th century, in which East Asian artworks and everyday objects were presented for the first time according to comparatively modern museum criteria.
In addition to a mountain of debts, he also left behind impressive collections.
The Chinese Cabinet
Collecting East Asian treasures was a tradition in the ducal family of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg – as in many other ducal houses – but initially did not go beyond what was generally customary. This changed fundamentally when Duke Augustus took over the government in 1804. With him and his successors in the 19th century, the Gotha collection of East Asian artefacts acquired its European status.