Fotoreproductie van een tekening van de Hunnenschlacht voor wandschilderingen voor het trappenhuis van het Neues Museum in Berlijn before 1870

Gustav Schauer created this photogravure of a drawing for murals in the Neues Museum in Berlin in the late 19th century. It depicts the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. The image evokes the social and political context of the German Empire. The choice of this historical subject matter is no accident. It reflects the cultural values of the time, particularly the emphasis on nationalism and historical narratives that glorified warfare. The Neues Museum, commissioned by Prussian King Frederick William IV, served as an institution for shaping public memory and national identity. Historical archives, museum records, and scholarly publications can help us investigate how this photogravure was influenced by institutional structures and social values. We can better understand art’s complex relationship with society by examining the cultural and historical settings in which it was produced.