Since when can the works of art be admired in the Kunsthistorisches Museum? Which Habsburgs were particular art lovers and who is considered the actual founder of the collection? Which paintings are they more likely to miss here?
A world-renowned art museum where you can see the great old masterpieces . It displays the private collections of the Habsburgs . The building itself is an architectural synthesis of the arts and is located on the Vienna Ring Road. Particularly impressive are the entrance hall,the staircase and the Dome. Gustav Klimt The Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM ) is divided into the following departments :The Picture Gallery – The KHM boasts the largest Bruegel collection outside Belgium. Floor-to-ceiling works by Rubens stand out, as well as by Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt, Titian, Raphael and Velazquez. Paintings by French painters were hardly collected. It should not be forgotten that the Habsburgs were at loggerheads with the French most of the time, apart from the examples of marriage policy (Marie-Antoinette with Louis XVI and Marie-Louise with Napoleon)The Kunstkammerwhich has been restored to its former glory since March 2013, dates back to the chambers of art and curiosities of the late Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Baroque period . 2,200 different objects are on display in 20 rooms . These collections were the precursors of the collection of paintings and underlined the creditworthiness of the ruler. The objects have a value that cannot be measured in numbers nowadays. The masterpiece of the Kunstkammer is the “Saliera” – a golden salt container by Benvenuto Cellini from the 16th century. Nowadays, the only comparable Kunstkammer is the Green Vault in Dresden, where a similar collection can be viewed. The Egyptian-Oriental Collection houses a real treasure in Vienna with a remarkable 17,000 objects. The Habsburgs were passionate collectors and this department bears witness to that. The collection of antiquities is no less worth seeing for all fans of
fans of Greek and Roman art andcoin fans take note: The Coin Cabinet
on the top floor comprises the most extensive collection in Austria and, alongside London, Paris, Berlin and St. Petersburg, is part of the fifth largest coin collection in the world.
How did the Habsburg collections come about?
The Austrian line of the Habsburgs gathered their Works of art since the 15th century in Vienna, Prague, Innsbruck and Graz. Ferdinand I (1503-1564) had established a chamber of art and curiosities in the Vienna Hofburg . In 1656, the governor of the Spanish Netherlands, Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, moved his 1,400 paintings by Italian and Dutch masters from Brussels to Vienna . He is regarded as the actual founder of this unique picture gallery. Through marriage and inheritance , an incredible treasure had been collected in the Stallburg over the centuries. Emperor Franz I Stephan, husband of Maria Theresa, was the founder of the rich natural history collections, the coin collection and the Tapestries. Vienna has one of the largest collections of tapestries in the world after Madrid! In 1781 , the Habsburg paintings were brought together in Belvedere Palace and opened to the general public free of charge by an imperial decree of Joseph II.
and was the first gallery in Europe to be madeaccessible to the general public free of charge . On December 20, 1857 ,Emperor Franz Josef I decided to demolish the city wall and build a boulevard in its place . The emperor wanted to counter the development of bourgeois power on the Ring with imposing court buildings . The domed twin buildings of the two court museums, the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Naturhistorisches Museum, designed by Gottfried Semper and Carl von Hasenauer , were intended to provide an appropriate setting for the treasures of art and nature that had been accumulated over four centuries . Since October 22, 1891 , the museum is open to the public, initially only on weekends and in the best outfit and only with clean shoes to enter. This has changed in that the museum is open every day except Monday (during the winter season). It is open daily in summer and during the high season. Time Travel Tip: A museum break with a café and cake in the domed hall is a real treat. The view of Maria-Theresien-Platz and the twin building of the Natural History Museum. opposite is also included. Attention: Only possible with entrance ticket! The museum store is well attended and offers nice gifts as well as nice souvenirs of the museum. More info: Kunsthistorisches Museum: Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien (khm.at) Image source: https://pixabay.com/de/photos/wien-vienne-kunsthistorisches-museum-221578/
