Christian Wilberg

After finishing his apprenticeship under Oswald Achenbach's supervision in Düsseldorf in 1870, Wilberg traveled through Northern Germany and spent two years in Venice.

He acquired a large knowledge in ancient architecture and used this to conceive reconstructions of Roman buildings – one of which was later hung in Berlin's famous Café Bauer.

After the fire, Wilberg travelled to France in the company of Werner Ludwig Pietsch in order to paint in Sedan; on his way there, he got ill while visiting Paris.

Some of the paintings from this exhibition, Villa Mondagrone and a number of oil sketches in watercolour and pencil drawings, were transferred to the National Gallery's ownership.

In 1883, the Old Masters Picture Gallery in Dresden was presented with Memento Mori, one of Wilberg's motifs of the Sabini Mountains in Italy.