Alte Nationalgalerie Berlin Lindauer Exhibition Visitors Books

This archive consists of the seven visitors books that were written in by attendees to the exhibition Gottfried Lindauer: Die-Māori Portraits that was held at the Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin from 20 November 2014 until 12 April 2015.

The inscriptions are written in many languages, for example, in the earliest dated Book German, English, Te Reo, Italian, Danish, Mandarin and Korean texts are to be found. Pakeha and Māori currently living in Germany were among those who wrote in the Books. In addition, descendants of those painted in the portraits by Lindauer and direct descendants of the artist himself also left messages. Some contributors drew pictures or wrote poems.

The text that accompanied the Books invited visitors to ‘pause and reflect’, ‘set down [their] impressions and ‘leave a personal message’ with the intention that these comments would be presented to the exhibition partners the Auckland Art Gallery and the ‘cultural heirs’ and descendants of those in the paintings.