In 1891 the Emperor Franz Joseph I (1830- 1916) inaugurated the Kunsthistorisches Museum. The building was born of the need to create a space to hold the imperial collections that the House of Habsburg had accumulated since the days of Emperor Maximilian I (1459-1519) and that would continue to grow until the fall of the Austro Hungarian Empire. These collections, a reflection of the tastes of the Habsburg emperors, their family relations, and five centuries of European diplomacy and politics, boast masterpieces of European painting and sculpture as well as scientific and decorative objects, tapestries, coins, armor, and works from antiquity that delighted those monarchs.
All the Histories of Art: The Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna is divided into six sections corresponding to the quintessential genres of art history. An extensive selection of masterpieces featuring portraits; history, religion, and mythology; nudes; popular customs; still lifes; and architecture and landscapes offers an innovative overview of the collections housed in this important museum.
Parallel events:
Parallel Activities:
- 1 October:
Wilfried Seipel (Director of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna)
The Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna (Simultaneous interpretation from German to Spanish)
Talk on the collections of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, which are the result of the tastes and interests of the emperors of the Habsburg dynasty.
- 9 October:
Francisco Calvo Serraller (P rofessor of Art History, Complutense University of Madrid)
Del Género al Trángenero en el Arte (From Genre to Transgender in Art)
Talk on genres in art history.
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Auditorium
Admission: Free activity. Pick up tickets at the Friends of the Museum admissions desk.
Exhibition runs from October 03, 2008 - January 18, 2009 at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Go to the museum website for more information.