Between Capri and Rome: Hugo Paul Harrer at the Fürst Pückler Museum Branitz

Italophilia, Views of Rome and the Rediscovery of an Almost Forgotten Painter

The special exhibition Between Capri and Rome. Hugo Paul Harrer at the Fürst Pückler Museum Park & Schloss Branitz leads into a visual world between the Italian coast, Roman architecture, and the fine romance of the 19th century. On September 5, 2026, an art-historically exciting cosmos will open here, enabling a comprehensive look at the artist's work for the first time through drawings, paintings, and a freshly restored Vesuvius. ([termine-regional.de](https://www.termine-regional.de/veranstaltungen/freizeit/details/ansicht/sonderausstellung-zwischen-capri-und-rom-hugo-paul-harrer-9337662))

Between Romanticism and Realistic Observation

Hugo Paul Harrer, born in 1836, did not enter the art world through the classical academy career but through self-study, careful observation of nature, and exchange with artist friends. Sources describe him as a painter of picturesque street scenes, ruins, and Italian coastal landscapes, whose works particularly thrive on contrasts of light and shadow. This tension makes his paintings so appealing for study: they combine atmospheric expansiveness with precise form. ([deutsche-biographie.de](https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/sfz26126.html?language=de&utm_source=openai))

A Family Archive of Italian Memory

The exhibition also focuses on the biographical dimension: Franziska Wickerath, Harrer's second wife, married him in 1868, lived with him in Rome and later in Cottbus, where she preserved and passed on many of his works after his early death. Some of these works are now part of the Carl-Blechen collection of the city of Cottbus. Thus, the exhibition becomes not only a presentation of artworks but also a cultural-historical key that connects personal memory, collection history, and regional art history. ([termine-regional.de](https://www.termine-regional.de/veranstaltungen/freizeit/details/ansicht/sonderausstellung-zwischen-capri-und-rom-hugo-paul-harrer-9337662))

Branitz as a Suitable Place for an Italian Imagery

The Fürst Pückler Museum Park & Schloss Branitz offers the ideal setting for this. The park is regarded as a masterpiece of landscape art, and the castle and visitor center form a place where art, garden art, and museum education intertwine. Those who visit the exhibition experience not only visual spaces but also the unique exhibition atmosphere of a historical ensemble with pedagogical art aspirations. ([pueckler-museum.de](https://www.pueckler-museum.de/pl/park-palac/park-branitz/?utm_source=openai))

What Visitors Can Expect in the Special Exhibition

According to the event announcement, the exhibition features for the first time comprehensively the preserved works of the artist, including numerous drawings, the portrait of Franziska, and the restored Vesuvius. This provides a rare insight into the Italian-influenced oeuvre of Harrer and simultaneously opens access to the Düsseldorf School and the painting of the 19th century as it unfolds between study and narrative image creation. ([termine-regional.de](https://www.termine-regional.de/veranstaltungen/freizeit/details/ansicht/sonderausstellung-zwischen-capri-und-rom-hugo-paul-harrer-9337662))

Visit, Context, and Museum Quality

This exhibition is also a gain for art-interested first-time visitors: It connects art-historical context, comprehensible life story, and a carefully curated collection that presents Italian motifs not merely as travel mood but as serious painterly experience. The result is a quiet, concentrated art experience that demands close examination. ([stiftung-volmer.de](https://www.stiftung-volmer.de/artist/321?utm_source=openai))

Conclusion: This special exhibition makes Hugo Paul Harrer visible again as a sensitive painter of Italian memory. Anyone interested in Rome, Capri, landscape painting, and the art of the 19th century should definitely visit the exhibition in Branitz live. ([termine-regional.de](https://www.termine-regional.de/veranstaltungen/freizeit/details/ansicht/sonderausstellung-zwischen-capri-und-rom-hugo-paul-harrer-9337662))

Official Channels of Fürst Pückler Museum Park & Schloss Branitz:

• Instagram: no official profile found
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• Website: https://www.pueckler-museum.de

Sources:

• Termine Regional - Special Exhibition: Between Capri and Rome. Hugo Paul Harrer
• Foundation Fürst Pückler Museum Park and Schloss Branitz - Park Branitz
• Foundation Fürst Pückler Museum Park and Schloss Branitz - Parks and Visitor Center
• German Biography - Harrer, Hugo
• Foundation Volmer Collection - Harrer, Hugo Paul