The Thousand-Year-Old Oak, 1837

About the Acquisition

The subsequent entry in the inventory is very moving: "John had often commented during his lifetime that he wanted to bequeath this picture to the Institute. Since he had made no provisions for after his death, his heirs have voluntarily complied with his wish." Not only his heirs: Friedrich John himself seems to have been actively engaged in art and culture. Together with the Städel director Johann David Passavant, for example, he was a member of the committee for the erection of the Goethe memorial in Frankfurt, which was inaugurated in 1844.