NEUE PINAKOTHEK

Description

Essentials about the Neue Pinakothek in brief

Art lovers have one must-do item on a trip to Munich, and that is a visit to the Neue Pinakothek (New Pinakothek). It is one of the most important museums for European art from the late 18th to the leading 20th century. Together with its two sibling institutions, the Alte Pinakothek (Old Pinakothek) and the Pinakothek der Moderne (Pinakothek of the Modern Age), as well as several other art museums, the Neue Pinakothek forms the unique Munich Kunstareal.

The history of the Neue Pinakothek

Historically, the Neue Pinakothek goes back to King Ludwig I, who wanted to use it to make his private collection of contemporary works of art, which he had been building since the beginning of the 19th century, accessible to the public after the Alte Pinakothek, which he had also commissioned. By 1853, the first Neue Pinakothek had been built opposite the Alte Pinakothek according to designs by the architects Friedrich von Gärtner von August von Voit. When it opened on October 25, 1853, the Neue Pinakothek was the world’s first collection of “modern” art and was intended as a counterpoint to the royal collection of Old Masters, which had been on display in the Alte Pinakothek since 1836.

Initially, due to Ludwig’s preferences, the main emphasis of the collection was on the Munich School and German Romanticism. After Ludwig’s death, other important works were gradually acquired. A new focus of the collection was not established until Hugo von Tschudi, who served as general director of the Munich State Painting Collections from the beginning of the 20th century. He focused his attention increasingly on the modern French artists, who had been rather neglected until then. The Neue Pinakothek owes its impressive Impressionist collection to him.

In 1944, the building of the Neue Pinakothek was severely damaged during air raids. After World War II, the decision was made to demolish the ruined museum building. Between 1975 and 1981, the postmodern new Pinakothek building, the work of architect Alexander Freiherr von Brancas, was erected.

With the opening of the Pinakothek der Moderne, the Neue Pinakothek today represents the link between the Old Masters in the Alte Pinakothek and the art of the 20th and 21st centuries in the Pinakothek der Moderne. The Neue Pinakothek offers its visitors an overview of the epochs of European art from the Enlightenment to the dawn of modernity, thus spanning the late 18th century, the entire 19th century and the beginnings of the 20th century. In addition to paintings and sculptures of Classicism, the museum exhibits works of Romanticism, Art Nouveau and Impressionism.

The collection of the Neue Pinakothek

From its holdings of over 3,000 paintings and 300 sculptures, the Neue Pinakothek constantly displays a changing selection of more than 400 works in its 22 halls and ten cabinets. The artists on display represent a who’s who of fine art from the late 18th to the early 20th centuries. Francisco de Goya, Thomas Gainsborough, William Turner, Caspar David Friedrich, Carl Spitzweg, Max Liebermann, Auguste Renoir, Édouard Manet, Claube Monet, Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Gustag Klimt and Egon Schiele are just a few of the world stars represented with works in the Neue Pinakothek.

Since January 1, 2019, the Neue Pinakothek building has been completely closed for a comprehensive general renovation until probably 2025. During this time, however, a selection of works can be seen in the east wing of the Alte Pinakothek and in the Schack Collection.