# *Scandal! Hermione von Preuschen and the “Mors Imperator”*

Mar 22 – Nov 15, 2026 · on view

Hermione von Preuschen’s 1887 painting Mors Imperator, refused by the Berlin Academy, shown with the papers of the scandal that made her famous.

The painting shows Death as a skeleton ruler in a purple, ermine-trimmed cloak, knocking over a throne with one foot planted on a globe. The Academy jury rejected it in 1887 as a dig at the 90-year-old Emperor Wilhelm I, so von Preuschen hired rooms on Leipziger Straße and showed it herself to paying crowds.

Letters, photographs and publications trace the affair and her later work as a writer and world traveler. Curated by Birgit Verwiebe.

Full details: [smb.museum](https://www.smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/alte-nationalgalerie/exhibitions/detail/scandal/)

## At [Alte Nationalgalerie](https://onview.so/berlin/alte-nationalgalerie.md)

Museum in Mitte, Berlin.

- Address: Bodestraße 1–3, Berlin, 10178
- Hours: Tue–Sun 10–6
- Website: https://www.smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/alte-nationalgalerie
- Directions: <https://www.google.com/maps/dir/?api=1&destination=Alte%20Nationalgalerie%2C%20Bodestra%C3%9Fe%201%E2%80%933%2C%20Berlin%2C%2010178>
- On the map: https://onview.so/berlin/map/alte-nationalgalerie

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On View's listing, as of Wednesday, October 14, 2026. This page: https://onview.so/berlin/alte-nationalgalerie/scandal-hermione-von-preuschen-and-the-mors-imperator. Every gallery and museum in Berlin: https://onview.so/berlin.md. All of On View: https://onview.so/llms.txt