Museum of Art History. Kunsthistorisches Museum. Sights of Vienna

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

In 1891, the Kunsthistorisches Museum opened in Vienna. Although in fact it already existed in 1889.

Who designed it?

The huge and beautiful building in the Renaissance style immediately became one of the hallmarks of the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The museum, following the example of other similar institutions in Europe, was designed on the basis of the royal collections of art works of art. The structure was designed and built by Europe's most famous architect Gottfried Semper.

He tried to bring elements inherent in the Roman Empire into the interior of buildings, which greatly pleased the Austro-Hungarian emperor, who saw in this a hint of the continuity of the glory of the Holy Roman Empire.

Where is it?

The Art Museum in Vienna is located on Maria Theresa Square, next to a beautiful well-groomed park, and there is also a monument to the Empress.

Habsburgs, starting from the fifteenth century, collected family portraits. In addition, many emperors of this monarchical dynasty bought paintings by the most famous artists of their time. When to fitSince the collection of paintings has become almost nowhere, Emperor Franz Joseph came up with the idea to build a separate building to store the rarest works of art. Moreover, everyone will have the opportunity to see Renaissance paintings, ancient sculptures and other most valuable exhibits collected over the centuries by the Habsburg dynasty. The paintings became available for public viewing under Maria Theresa.

Description

The museum building is truly grandiose. The structure in the form of a triangle is crowned with a magnificent dome with a diameter of sixty meters. Inside there are ninety-one museum halls, not counting the utility rooms. In front of the majestic and beautiful building is a large manicured lawn, on which shrubs grow, artfully trimmed in the form of circles, cylinders and the like.

They are scattered across the lawn, there is no clutter of green spaces, which gives the space in front of the museum a very refined, elegant look. The massive building itself is admirable, not to mention the treasures of art collected in it.

Exhibits

The exhibits were transferred to the Vienna Museum of Art History from other Habsburg treasuries. So, from the Kunstkamera, located in the Prague Castle, some paintings collected by Emperor Rudolf II were transported to Vienna. Priceless canvases have become the most picturesque exposition of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.

The canvases collected by Archduke Ferdinand II were delivered from Ambras Castle. Leopold Wilhelm,as governor of the Southern Netherlands, he bought paintings at an auction in Brussels. And over time, he collected the most extensive and meaningful collection of paintings by outstanding masters of painting - Rubens, Tintoretto, Titian, Van Eyck and others. Famous paintings and other works from many castles, palaces, art galleries belonging to the Habsburgs were brought to the Museum of Art History.

The Austrians were able to save their priceless treasures during the First and Second World Wars. Expropriated in 1918, the exhibits of the museum were transferred to the state. The building of the Museum of Art History was especially badly damaged during the Second World War. However, the people of Vienna were able to take care of amazing works of art. They prudently removed and hid priceless treasures of world culture just before the start of the war. The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna reopened decades after the end of World War II, in 1959.

Ancient exhibits and Egyptian hall

Its exhibits are extremely ancient, they are not only paintings of the Renaissance, but also antique works of art, whose age has reached four millennia. For example, the sculpture of the head, which was found during excavations in Giza about a hundred years ago.

It is believed that it was made during the reign of Pharaoh Cheops. By the way, the museum has a vast hall dedicated to the Egyptian theme. It is equipped as an ancient Egyptian temple. This hall contains the rarest treasures thatwitnessed the era of the pharaohs.

Exhibits of antiquity

Also in the museum there are exhibits from antiquity. This is a Roman copy of the sculpture of Aristotle's head, a copy of the Greek original of the sculpture "Aphrodite and Eros". The famous bas-relief cameo "Gemma Augusta" made of onyx and many other artistic values of the Hellenic and ancient Roman cultures.

Exhibits of jewelry art

In addition to old paintings, the museum stores samples of famous masters of jewelry art. For example, the work of the Italian genius Benvenuto Cellini. Whose works were very prestigious to give to representatives of the royal dynasties of Europe in the sixteenth century.

One of these works - a s alt shaker depicting Neptune and Ceres - can be seen in one of the halls of the Vienna Museum of Art History. The exquisite and delicate work of the famous jeweler is simply priceless. There are also luxurious items made by other eminent masters. Lapis lazuli bowl by Gasparo Miseroni, a masterpiece of the late sixteenth century.

Ivory artifacts

One of the halls of the museum contains ivory items. Among the many exhibits, the sculpture Apollo and Daphne by Jacob Auer, dating from 1688, stands out in particular. Bone carving flourished especially in Vienna and was a fashionable activity during the reign of Emperor Leopold I.

Therefore, his bust is in this theme room. There is also a bust of the young Marie Antoinette,the French queen, beheaded on the scaffold, like most aristocrats, during the revolution.

Picture gallery and numismatic room

And yet the basis, the core of the Vienna Museum of Kunsthistorisches is an art gallery. If we recall all the most famous European artists of all time, then half of their works, no doubt, are located in this museum. The art gallery has several, so to speak, sections. One is dedicated to the works of the Flemish masters of painting. Here you can see the immortal paintings of Rubens, van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens. The German section contains works by Albrecht Dürer, Holbein, Cranach. The Dutch section is represented by paintings by Hals, Terborch, Van Rijn and other famous artists.

Italian contains paintings by Titian, Giorgione, Mantegna, Caravaggio, Raphael Santi. There is also a section dedicated to British and French artists.

In addition to all the listed expositions, the museum has a unique numismatic hall. His collection is among the top five collections in the world. Here are collected the oldest and rarest coins, medals, orders and other insignia.

Natural History Museum

If you are interested in the most famous museums, then visit the Museum of Natural History. The building is made in the Renaissance style. It looks very harmonious with the Museum of Art History. These two establishments opened in the same year. The Natural History Museum presents natural exhibits belonging to the House of Habsburg. This institution has thirty-nine rooms in which areplants and animals that became extinct a couple of centuries ago. More than three million exhibits are collected here. Most of them were brought from different parts of the world. The first floor accommodates an exposition dedicated to various representatives of the fauna. Famous exhibits are the skeleton of a diplodocus and a stuffed animal of a Steller's cow. On the second floor there are geological exhibits. This is a collection of the rarest gems, a collection of minerals and minerals. There are fragments of a meteorite and a tiny figurine of Venus of Willendorf.

Figaro's House

Worth seeing for those interested in Vienna (city). There are many attractions here. Tourists who come to Vienna should definitely see the house of the musical genius - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was here that the famous composer lived from 1784 to 1787. The famous opera The Marriage of Figaro was born here. Therefore, until recently, the townspeople called the house - the House of Figaro. Residents of Vienna did not spare eight million euros for the reconstruction of the building. The house is located in the old part of the city, next to St. Stephen's Cathedral.

Conclusion

Now you know that Vienna (the city whose sights we examined) is quite beautiful and interesting, of course, largely thanks to its museums. Be sure to visit the places that are described in the article. Believe me, this beauty deserves the attention of every tourist.