Neue Pinakothek

The Neue Pinakothek is an art museum in Munich, Germany. It focuses on European art from the 18th and 19th centuries and is one of the most important museums for art from the nineteenth century in the world.

Together with the Alte Pinakothek and the Pinakothek der Moderne, the Neue Pinakothek is part of Munich's special museum area called the Kunstareal. This area is a wonderful place to explore and learn about art.

The building

The Neue Pinakothek was finished in 1859 and was meant to be the first museum in Europe to show paintings from that time. It displayed well-known schools of European painting. On the ground floor, there were 186 plaster busts of famous people from that era.

Later, in the late 20th century, the building was redesigned. Architect Alexander von Branca used a new style called Postmodernism for the redesign, and the building reopened in 1981. The new design mixes concrete with a stone front.

History

Ludwig I of Bavaria started collecting art when he was still a prince in 1809, and he kept adding more pieces over time. When the museum was created, it was decided that it would focus on art from just before the 1800s, which many other galleries also follow.

Because Ludwig I liked German art, especially from a style called Romanticism and a group known as the Munich School, the museum showed a lot of these works. There was also a connection to Greece, which was linked to Bavaria at the time. In 1834, Carl Rottmann went to Greece to paint beautiful landscapes for Ludwig I, and these paintings now have their own special room in the museum.

From 1905 to 1914, a collection known as the Tschudi Contribution added many important paintings from styles like Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Hugo von Tschudi brought these works to the museum after he was not allowed to show some paintings in Berlin. He became the director and collected many pieces from new French artists, with help from private donors.

The museum’s space for more modern art was set around 1900, including works by Henri Matisse and a style called Expressionism. One of Matisse’s paintings from the Tschudi Contribution is now shown in the Pinakothek der Moderne.

In 1915, Bavaria took ownership of the Neue Pinakothek. Later, in 1938, some paintings were taken by authorities who did not like certain types of art.

Renovations

Since January 2019, the Neue Pinakothek has been closed for updates. It was first planned to reopen by 2025, but in January 2022, the date was moved to 2029.

Collection

The Neue Pinakothek is part of the Bavarian State Painting Collections. It holds over 3,000 European paintings from classicism to Art Nouveau. About 400 paintings and 50 sculptures are displayed there.

The museum features international paintings from the second half of the 18th century, including works by Francisco de Goya, Jacques-Louis David, Johann Friedrich August Tischbein, and Anton Graff.

It also showcases English and Scottish paintings from the 18th and early 19th centuries by artists such as Thomas Gainsborough, William Hogarth, John Constable, and J. M. W. Turner. The museum has more works by Thomas Gainsborough than any other European museum outside the British Isles.

German artists of Classicism in Rome are represented, along with works from German Romanticism and the Biedermeier period. The collection includes French Realism and French Romanticism, as well as Deutschrömer (or German-Romans) artists.

There are also history paintings, German Realism, and German Impressionists on display. The museum is known for its French Impressionists collection, featuring masterpieces by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, and Vincent van Gogh.

The museum also displays Symbolism and Art Nouveau works, along with sculptures from the 19th century by artists such as Bertel Thorvaldsen, Antonio Canova, and Auguste Rodin.