Alte Pinakothek in Munich

Alte Pinakothek
The Alte Pinakothek Building in Munich, Germany
Photo from: wikipedia, Creative Commons

Alte Pinakothek is situated in the Kunstareal province of Munich, Germany which is a fine arts museum and the oldest gallery in the world.

William IV started the museum’s collection when he commanded the modern artists to paint the historical paintings. Maximilian I obtained the paintings of Albrecht Durer while Maximilian Emanuel II, the grandson of Maximilian, bought a number of paintings when he served as the Governor of Spanish Netherlands. In addition, Johann Wilhelm, the cousin of Maximilian Emanuel II, added paintings from the Netherlands. In the year 1777, the Zweibrucken, Dusseldorf and Mannheim galleries were moved to Munich.

Later, the Bavarian King Ludwig I commanded Leo von Klenze to construct a new building for the collection of Wittlelsbach in the year 1826. The museum was finally opened in the year 1836 and also served as model for the Rome, Brussels, Kassel and St Petersburg galleries. The gallery contains works of art from several different artists from many different countries. The works, artists and where they are from are listed below.

Italian paintings, which are considered to be the oldest paintings in the gallery, are  from the time period between the 13th-18th centuries and include:

• “Christ in the House of Mary and Martha”, by Tintoretto
• “The Last Supper” painting by Giotto
• “The Spiritual Marriage of St. Catherine” painting by Lorenzo Lotto
• “Entombment of Christ” by Fra Angelico
• “The Assumption of the Virgin”, by Guido Reni
• “Lamentation of Christ” painting by Sandro Botticelli
• “Madonna of the Carnation”, by Leonardo da Vinci
• “Piazetta in Venice”, by Canaletto
• “A Cynical Philosopher”, by Luca Giordano
• “The Adoration of the Kings”, by Tiepolo
• “Regatta on the Canaldella Guidecca”, by Francesco Guardia

German Paintings
The German paintings displays the work of

• Matthias Grunewald
• Stefan Lochner
• Hans Baldung Grien
• Michael Pacher Holbein
• Cranach
• Albrecht Altdorfer
• Albrecht Durer
• Adam Elsheimer
• Johann Liss
• Hans von Aachen

In addition, there are number of paintings from the Dutch, Flemish and Spanish. The museum has become a famous spot, that attracts people from all over the world. The museum opens at 10am and closes at 8pm on Tuesdays and the museum opens at 10am and closes at 6pm from Wednesday to Sunday. The entry fee is about 5.50 Euros for adults and 3.50 Euros for children and senior citizens. The entry into the museum is free on Sundays.

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