Museum of Art History. Kunsthistorisches Museum. Sightseeing in Vienna

In 1891, the Museum of Art History opened in Vienna. Although in fact it existed already in 1889.

Who designed it?

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

He tried to make the interior of buildings elements inherent in the Roman Empire, which is very pleased with the Austro-Hungarian emperor, who saw in this a hint at the continuity of the glory of the Holy Roman Empire.

Where is?

The Art Museum in Vienna is located on Maria Theresa Square , near the beautiful well-groomed park, as well as the monument to the Empress.

Since the fifteenth century, the Habsburgs have been collecting family portraits. In addition, many of the emperors of this monarchical dynasty bought the paintings of the most famous artists of their time. When the collections of paintings could no longer be found anywhere, Emperor Franz Joseph had the idea to build a separate building for storing rare works of art. Moreover, see the paintings of the Renaissance, antique sculptures and other valuable exhibits, collected over the centuries by the Habsburg dynasty, will be available to all comers. For public viewing, the paintings became available under Maria Theresa.

Description

The building of the museum is truly grandiose. The construction in the form of a triangle is crowned by a magnificent dome with a diameter of sixty meters. Inside is ninety-one museum hall, not counting the ancillary facilities. Before the majestic and beautiful building is a large well-groomed lawn, on which shrubs are grown, artfully trimmed in the form of circles, cylinders and the like.

They are scattered on the lawn, there is no heap of green plantations, which gives the space in front of the museum a very refined, elegant appearance. The large-scale building itself is worthy of admiration, let alone talking about the treasures of art collected in it.

Exhibits

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

From the castle of Ambras, the canvases collected by Archduke Ferdinand II were delivered. Leopold-Wilhelm, being the governor of the Southern Netherlands, bought paintings at an auction in Brussels. And over time he collected the most extensive and informative collection of paintings by outstanding painters - Rubens, Tintoretto, Titian, Van Eyck and others. The museum of the history of art brought the famous canvases and other works from many castles, palaces, art galleries belonging to the Habsburgs.

The Austrians were able to preserve their priceless treasures during the First and Second World War. Expropriated in 1918, the museum exhibits were handed over to the state. Especially strongly the building of the museum of the history of art suffered during the Second World War. However, the inhabitants of Vienna were able to take care of amazing works of art. They prudently removed and hid the priceless treasures of world culture just before the war. The Museum of Art History in Vienna resumed its work decades after the end of World War II, in 1959.

Ancient exhibits and the Egyptian hall

The exhibits are extremely ancient, it is not only the paintings of the Renaissance, but also ancient works of art, whose age reached four thousand years. 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 room contains the rarest treasures that witnessed the era of the pharaohs.

Exhibits of antiquity

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

Exhibits of jewelry art

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

One of these works - a saltcellar with the image of Neptune and Ceres - can be seen in one of the halls of the Vienna Museum of Art History. Exquisite and delicate work of a famous jeweler is priceless. There are also luxurious works of other eminent masters. A bowl of lapis lazuli by Gasparo Miraconi, a masterpiece of the late sixteenth century.

Exhibits of ivory

One of the museum's halls contains ivory items. Among the many exhibits, the sculpture of Jacob Auer "Apollo and Daphne", dating back to 1688, stands out. The bone carving particularly flourished in Vienna, was a fashionable occupation during the reign of Emperor Leopold I.

Therefore, his bust is located in this thematic hall. Here is the bust of the young Marie Antoinette, the French queen, beheaded on the scaffold, like most aristocrats, during the Revolution.

Picture Gallery and Numismatic Hall

Still, the foundation, the core of the Vienna Museum of Art History, is the picture gallery. If you recall all the most famous artists of Europe of all time, half of their works, undoubtedly, is in this museum. The picture gallery has several sections, so to speak. One is dedicated to the works of Flemish painters. Here you can see the immortal canvases of Rubens, van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens. In the German section, the works of Albrecht Durer, Holbein, Cranach are collected. The Dutch section is represented by canvas paintings by Khals, Terborch, Van Rein and other eminent artists.

Italian contains paintings by Titian, Giorgione, Mantegna, Caravaggio, Raphael Santi. There is also a section dedicated to the artists of England and France.

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

Museum of Natural History

If you are interested in the most famous museums, then visit the Museum of Natural History. The building is in the Renaissance style. It is very harmonious with the Museum of Art History. Opened these two institutions in the same year. In the museum of natural science there are natural exhibits belonging to the house of the Habsburgs. This institution has thirty-nine rooms, in which there are plants and animals that have died out a couple of centuries ago. More than three million exhibits have been collected here. Most of them were brought from different parts of the globe. The first floor is an exposition dedicated to all kinds of fauna. Famous exhibits are the skeleton of the Diplodocus and the stuffed steller cow. On the second floor there are geological exhibits. This is a collection of rare precious stones, a collection of minerals, minerals. There are fragments of a meteorite and a tiny figurine of Venus of Willendorf.

Figaro's House

What is worth seeing for those who are interested in Vienna (city). There are many sights here. Tourists who came to Vienna, certainly worth seeing the house of the musical genius - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was here that the famous composer lived in the period from 1784 to 1787. Here the famous opera The Marriage of Figaro was born. Therefore, until recently, the townspeople and 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 (a city whose attractions we have been considering) is quite beautiful and interesting, of course, thanks largely 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.