European Art

Works from this collection are on view on the Museum's second floor.

The Museum’s collection of European art started with the Crocker family’s purchase of 700 paintings during their grand tour of Europe between 1869-71. The family assembled their collection for public viewing in order to link the capital of the new state of California to the culture of the Old World. This core collection emphasizes Central European painting of the 19th century, Dutch and Flemish 16th- and 17th-century painting, and Italian Baroque painting.

Major works include: Pieter Brueghel the Younger's Peasant Wedding Dance, Gerrit van Honthorst's Allegory of Painting, and Thomas Willeboirts' Venus and Adonis.

Central European Paintings
The Crocker's collection of 285 Central European works boasts strengths in history painting, literary narrative, and genre scenes, in addition to 90 rare 19th-century miniatures. Among the artists represented are Johann Michael Rottmayer, Johann Christian Klengel, Johann Evangelist Holzer, Andreas and Oswald Achenbach, Theobald von Oir, Adolf Wichmann, and Bernhard Reinhold.