ALTE PINAKOTHEK

Description

Essentials about the Alte Pinakothek in brief

For lovers of old art, the Alte Pinakothek (Old Pinacotheca) is an absolute must-see when visiting Munich. With its impressive collection of European paintings from the 14th to the 18th century, the Alte Pinakothek is one of the most important painting galleries in the world. Together with the Neue Pinakothek (New Pinacotheca), the Pinakothek der Moderne (Pinacotheca of the Modern Age), the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus (Munical Gallery at the Lenbachhaus), the Museum Brandhorst, the Glyptothek and other institutions, the Alte Pinakothek forms the so-called “Kunstareal München”, a unique conglomeration of dozens of museums, art and science institutions.

The history of the Alte Pinakothek

The historical origins of the Alte Pinakothek collection lie in the passion for collecting of the Bavarian dukes and Palatine electors. From the 16th to the 18th century, they acquired numerous works by European masters such as Dürer, Rembrandt, Rubens and van Dyck. After the unification of Bavaria and the Palatinate, the Palatine collections were united with the Bavarian collections in Munich. The secularization in Bavaria also contributed to the fact that many paintings from abolished monasteries came into royal possession.

The title of the actual founder of the Alte Pinakonthek, however, belongs to King Ludwig I of Bavaria. On the one hand, he was also a passionate collector of paintings, especially of works by Old German masters and the Italian Renaissance. On the other hand, Ludwig felt obliged, in accordance with the ideal of popular education, to make the royal Bavarian art treasures accessible to the public. Since these were spread over various palaces, he commissioned his court architect Leo von Klenze to construct a museum building on the (then) northern outskirts of Munich.

The foundation stone for the museum was laid in 1826; ten years later the building was completed. When it opened, the Alte Pinakothek was not only the largest museum building in the world, but also one of the most modern museums in the world in terms of construction and concept, which many museums in the following years took as their model. Von Klenze designed the building to be not only magnificent, but also functional. The painting galleries were perfectly illuminated by the use of skylights and supplemented by cabinet rooms on the north side.

During World War II, the Alte Pinakothek was severely damaged by bomb hits. Fortunately, the paintings had been moved out of storage beforehand. The way in which the museum building was reconstructed after the war remains controversial to this day. In fact, the architect Hans Döllgast opted for a type of repair instead of reconstruction. Thus, even today the once destroyed parts of the building are clearly recognizable by an unplastered brick masonry.

The collection of the Alte Pinakothek

More than 700 paintings from the museum’s collection of several thousand pictures are exhibited on the ground and upper floors of the Alte Pinakothek. The museum premises consist of 19 halls (for important and large paintings) and 47 cabinets (for less important and smaller paintings). Many of the works of art on view in the Alte Pinakothek are among the highlights of European painting.

Highlights of the collection include, for example, Albrecht Dürer’s “Self-Portrait in a Fur Coat,” El Greco’s “Undressing Chriti,” Rembrandt’s “Youthful Self-Portrait,” Rubens’ “The Great Last Judgment” and Leonardo da Vinci’s “Madonna with the Carnation.” The list of masters exhibited in the Alte Pinakothek reads like a who’s who of European painting. In addition to the masters mentioned, Botticelli, Breughel the Elder, Raphael, Tiepolo, Titian and Velásquez are also represented with works. Above all, the collection of Old German painting from the 14th to 17th centuries is one of the most extensive of its kind.