Why Is Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller Only Now Getting His First UK Exhibition?

How is it that one of Austria’s most important 19th century painters has never had a dedicated exhibition in the UK until now? In summer 2026, the National Gallery will finally correct that oversight with Waldmüller: Landscapes (2 July to 20 September 2026), the first British exhibition devoted to the landscape paintings of Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (1793 to 1865).

Organised in collaboration with the Belvedere Museum in Vienna, which is lending the majority of the works, the exhibition places Waldmüller’s luminous, meticulously observed landscapes centre stage. While he is often associated with Austria’s Biedermeier period, his work feels far from quaint or merely decorative. Yes, the era, stretching roughly from the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to the revolutions of 1848, celebrated domestic life and middle class sensibilities. But Waldmüller’s paintings are also strikingly direct, sometimes moralising, and always unflinchingly honest.

Trained at the Academy in Vienna from 1807, Waldmüller initially received a traditional academic education. Yet as a landscapist he was largely self taught, studying Dutch 17th century masters such as Jacob van Ruisdael and Meindert Hobbema. By the 1820s, landscape had become central to his artistic vision.

His clarity of detail and reverence for nature have often drawn comparisons with the British Pre Raphaelite artists, though his approach evolved independently. When he visited London in 1856, even Queen Victoria and Prince Albert acquired his work.

Perhaps Waldmüller’s relentless pursuit of truth in art feels surprisingly modern and long overdue for rediscovery.