By the end of the 18th Century, the series of portraits of the Göttingen professors consisted of 40 paintings. In the beginning, they hung close together in the main conference hall (Konzilienhaus) of the University.
The building was the scene of important decisions and served as a meeting place for the Göttingen scholars as well as for the reception of their guests. Interest in this kind of representation waned in the 1800’s.
Representations of this kind were perceived as outdated, the paintings were removed from the council house and handed over to the painting collection whose director Johann Dominicus (1748- 1821) banished them to the storeroom.
In the 19th century, the collection was distributed among various buildings of the University.
Since 2006, the Arts Collection staff has been endeavouring to reassemble the portraits.
