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Kunsthistorisches Museum

 

 

 

 

 

Kunsthistorisches Museum


 
 






The Kunsthistorisches Museum in ViennaVienna

Vienna is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria....
, housed in its festive palatial building on RingstraßeRingstraße

The Ringstra?e is a circular road surrounding the Innere Stadt district of Vienna, Austria and is one of its main sights....
, crowned with an octagonal domeDome

A dome is a common structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere....
, is one of the premier museums of fine arts and decorative arts in the world.






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2003   Benvenuto Cellini's ''Saliera'' is stolen from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.






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The Kunsthistorisches Museum in ViennaVienna

Vienna is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria....
, housed in its festive palatial building on RingstraßeRingstraße

The Ringstra?e is a circular road surrounding the Innere Stadt district of Vienna, Austria and is one of its main sights....
, crowned with an octagonal domeDome

A dome is a common structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere....
, is one of the premier museums of fine arts and decorative arts in the world. The term Kunsthistorisches Museum applies to both the institution and the main building.

It was opened in 1891 at the same time as the Naturhistorisches MuseumNaturhistorisches Museum

The Naturhistorisches Museum is a large museum located in Vienna, Austria....
, by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-HungaryAustria-Hungary

Austria-Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Dual Monarchy or k.u.k....
. The two museums have identical exteriors and face each other across Maria-Theresien-PlatzMaria-Theresien-Platz

The Marie-Theresien-Platz of Vienna is a large square joining the Ringstrae with the Museumsquartier, a museum of modern art...
. Both buildings were built between 1872 and 1891 according to plans drawn up by Gottfried SemperGottfried Semper

Gottfried Semper was a German architect, art critic, and professor of architecture, who designed and built the Semper Oper i...
 and Karl Freiherr von HasenauerKarl Freiherr von Hasenauer

Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer was an important Austrian architect and key representative of the Historismus school....
.

The two Ringstraße museums were commissioned by the Emperor in order to find a suitable shelter for the HabsburgHabsburg

Habsburg was an important ruling house of Europe and is best known as the ruling House of Austria for over six centuries....
s' formidable art collection and to make it accessible to the general public. The façadeFacade

A facade is generally the exterior of a building, especially the front, but also sometimes the sides and rear....
 was built of sandstoneSandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-size mineral or rock grains....
. The building is rectangular in shape, and topped with a dome that is 60 meters high. The inside of the building is lavishly decorated with marble, stucco ornamentations, gold-leaf, and paintings, making it a spectacular work of art in its own right.

Collection


Picture Gallery

The museum's primary collections are those of the HabsburgHabsburg

Habsburg was an important ruling house of Europe and is best known as the ruling House of Austria for over six centuries....
s, particularly from the portraitPortrait

A portrait is a painting, photograph, or other artistic representation of a person....
 and armourArmour

Armour or armor is protective clothing intended to defend its wearer from intentional harm in combat and military eng...
 collections of Ferdinand of Tirol, the collections of Emperor Rudolf II (the largest part of which is, however, scattered), and the collection of paintings of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm.

Among the most important works in the picture gallery are (see also ):
  • Jan van EyckJan van Eyck

    Jan van Eyck was a 15th century Flemish painter of great renown in his day....
    : "Cardinal Niccolò Albergati" ("Kardinal Niccoló Albergati"), 1438
  • Albrecht DürerAlbrecht Dürer Summary

    Albrecht Drer was a German painter, wood carver, engraver, and mathematician....
    : "Adoration of the Trinity" (Anbetung der heiligen Dreifaltigkeit), 1511
  • Giuseppe ArcimboldoGiuseppe Arcimboldo

    Giuseppe Arcimboldo was an Italian painter best known for creating portrait heads made entirely of such objects as fruits, v...
    : "Summer" (Sommer), 1563
  • Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio:
    • "Madonna of the Rosary" (Die Rosenkranzmadonna) 1606/07
    • "The Crowning with Thorns"
    • "David with the Head of Goliath"
  • Peter Paul RubensPeter Paul Rubens

    Peter Paul Rubens was the most popular and prolific Flemish and European painter of the 17th century....
    :
    • "Ildefonso Altar" (Der Altar des hl. Ildefonso), 1630-32
    • "The Fur" (Das Pelzchen), 1638
  • RaphaelRaphael

    Raphael or Raffaello , born in Urbino, was a master painter and architect of the Florentine school in the Italian High...
    : "Madonna in Green" (Madonna im Grünen), 1506
  • Johannes VermeerJohannes Vermeer

    Johannes Vermeer or Jan Vermeer -Dutch painter....
    : "The Artist in his Studio" (Die Malkunst), 1665/66
  • Pieter Brueghel the ElderPieter Brueghel the Elder

    Pieter Brueghel the Elder or Bruegel was a Flemish Renaissance painter known for his landscapes and peasant scenes....
    :
    • "The Fight Between Carnival and LentThe Fight Between Carnival and Lent Summary

      The Fight Between Carnival and Lent is an oil on panel work painted by Pieter Bruegel in 1559....
      " (Kampf zwischen Fasching und Fasten), 1559
    • "Children's Games" (Kinderspiele), 1560
    • "The Tower of BabelThe Tower of Babel (Brueghel)

      The Tower of Babel is an oil painting by Pieter Brueghel the Elder....
      " (Turmbau zu Babel), 1563
    • "The Procession to Calvary" (Kreuztragung Christi), 1564
    • "The Gloomy Day (Feb.-Ma.)" (Düsterer Tag (Vorfrühling)), 1565
    • "The Return of the Herd (Oct.-Nov.)" (Heimkehr der Herde (Herbst)), 1565
    • "The Hunters in the Snow (Dec.-Jan.)" (Jäger im Schnee (Winter)), 1565
    • "The Peasant and the Nest Robber" (Bauer und Vogeldieb), 1568
    • "The Peasant Wedding" (Bauernhochzeit), 1568/69
    • "The Peasant Dance" (Bauerntanz), 1568/69


The collections of the Kunsthistorisches Museum are the:

  • Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection
  • Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities
  • Collection of Sculpture and Decorative Arts
  • Coin Cabinet
  • Library

Hofburg

  • EphesusEphesus

    Ephesus or Efes , was one of the great cities of the Ionian Greeks in Anatolia, located in Lydia where the Cayster river ...
    -Museum
  • Collection of Ancient Musical Instruments
  • Collection of Arms and Armour
  • Archive
  • Secular and Ecclesiastical Treasury (in the Schweizerhof)

others

  • Museum of Carriages and Department of Court Uniforms (in Schönbrunn PalaceSchönbrunn Palace

    Schnbrunn Palace in Vienna is one of the most important cultural monuments in Austria and since the 1860s has also been one ...
    )


  • Collections of Ambras CastleAmbras Castle

    The Ambras Castle is located in Innsbruck, Austria....
     (in InnsbruckInnsbruck Overview

    Innsbruck is a city in western Austria, and the capital of the federal state of Tyrol....
    )


Further affilicated are the:
  • Museum of Ethnology in the Neue Burg (affiliated in 2001);
  • LipizzanFacts About Lipizzan

    The Lipizzan, or Lipizzaner, is a breed of horse closely associated with the Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Austria ...
    er-Museum
    in the Stallburg;
  • the Austrian Theatre Museum in Palais LobkowitzPalais Lobkowitz

    Palais Lobkowitz is a baroque palace in Vienna....


Recent events

One of the museum's most important objects, the Cellini Salt Cellar by Benvenuto CelliniBenvenuto Cellini

Benvenuto Cellini was an Italian goldsmith, painter, sculptor, soldier and musician of the Renaissance....
, was stolen on May 11, 2003 and recovered on January 21, 2006, in a box buried in a forest near the town of ZwettlZwettl

Zwettl is a town and district capital in Lower Austria....
, Austria. It had been the biggest art-theft in Austrian history.

The Kunsthistorisches Museum appears in considerable detail in the final mission of the , developed by Illusion SoftworksIllusion Softworks Summary

Illusion Softworks is game development company located in Brno, in the Czech Republic, and was founded by Petr Vochozka and ...
.

External links