GLYPTOTHEK

Description

Essentials about the Glyptothek in brief

If you are a fan of antique sculptures, you should definitely pay a visit to the Glyptothek during a trip to Munich. The impressive collection of the Bavarian ruling family of the Wittelsbach, especially the antiquity-loving King Ludwig I, is one of the most important collections of Greek and Roman sculptures from various eras. In addition, the Glyptothek, opened in 1830, is Munich’s oldest public museum.

The history and architecture of the Glyptothek

The Glyptothek museum building was commissioned by Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and erected on Königsplatz. Court architect Leo von Klenze created the square from 1815 in the style of an ancient forum, on the north side of which the Glyptothek is located. The Glyptothek building was constructed between 1816 and 1830. After the Glyptothek was partially destroyed in air raids during World War II, the museum was reconstructed starting in 1947 and reopened in 1972. From 2018 to 2021, the museum building underwent a general renovation.

By the way, the name “Glyptothek” is a modern artificial word. It is formed from the ancient Greek words “glyphein” (meaning “to chisel”) and “theke” (meaning “storage”), and thus refers to a place where sculptures are kept.

Not only the treasures inside the Glyptothek, but also the building itself is absolutely worth seeing. The classicist exterior, created by Leo von Klenze and Karl von Fischer, contributes to the imposing appearance of the Königsplatz. The entrance is adorned by twelve Ionic columns. Above it stands Athena, protector of the plastic arts, surrounded by other sculptures. The figures in the niches, including Prometheus or Hephaestus, represent the arts and their stories that await visitors inside.

The collection of the Glyptothek

The Glyptothek owns sculptures, mosaics and reliefs from the Archaic period (ca. 650 BC) to the late Roman period (ca. 550 AD). Some sculptures were already in the possession of the Wittelsbach family for a long time. However, the collection of antiquities can primarily be traced back to King Ludwig I, who began systematically acquiring antique sculptures as a crown prince as early as 1804. His father had little understanding for this. “My crazy son wants to spend money again, I am sure, to buy old junk, and he hopes thereby to make Greeks and Romans out of this race of beer drinkers,” Max I Joseph characterized the hobby of the heir to the throne in a letter.

The sculptures exhibited in the Glyptothek can be divided into four periods:

The Archaic Period (700 – 490 BC)

The main works of Archaic art are in particular the early Greek statues of young men (Kouroi), including the Munich Kouros (young man from Attica, ca. 540 BC) and the Apollo of Tenea (Kouros from Tenea near Corinth, ca. 560 BC) as well as the Aeginetes (pediment figures of the Temple of Aphaia at Aegina, ca. 500 BC).

The Classical Period (490 – 323 BC)

Among the most famous works of the Greek classical period are: The Portrait of Homer (460 BC), the Munich King (460 BC), the Statue of Diomedes (430 BC), the Medusa Rondanini (440 BC), the Tomb Stele of Mnesarete (380 BC), the Statue of Eirene (370 BC), the Alexander Rondanini (ca. 338 BC) and the Kneeling Youth Ilioneus (ca. 320 BC).

The Hellenistic Period (323 – 146 BC)

The best-known Hellenistic work is the Barberine Faun (220 B.C.), a male sculpture that displays its masculinity in a particularly revealing manner. Other Roman copies of famous Greek sculptures from this period include the Boy with the Goose (ca. 250 BC) and The Drunken Old Woman (ca. 200 BC).

The Roman Period (150 BC – 550 AD)

A Roman imitation in the classical style is also the young man’s head made of bronze (around the birth of Christ). The Glyptothek has a rich collection of Roman portraits, including the famous effigies depicting Marius and Sulla (c. 40 B.C.) and numerous portraits of emperors, including Augustus (c. 40 A.D.), Nero (65 A.D.), Septimius Severus (200 A.D.) and his wife Julia Domna (195 A.D.). A statue with a sword belt heroizes Domitian as a prince (c. 75 AD) and the Apollo Barberini, a colossal statue of Apollo as a citharoid (1st/2nd century AD).

The Glyptothek’s holdings are supplemented by the ancient vase art, bronzes and gold jewelry in the Antikensammlungen, which is run as one museum with the Glyptothek. Greco-Roman sculptures created in Egypt since the Hellenistic conquest are in the State Museum of Egyptian Art. For casts of ancient sculptures from other museums around the world, there is a separate collection on the east side of Königsplatz.