Bavarian rhapsody
Munich has plenty to offer the visiting art-lover, writes Ian Sclater
Henry Moore's Reclining Woman greets visitors in front of the Old Pinakothek
Germany's third city (after Berlin and Hamburg), Munich has been voted the one most Germans would prefer to live in. An extensive, Italian-influenced 19th century building programme earned it the moniker of the 'northernmost Italian city', and much of that neo-Renaissance atmosphere remains along with a small town feel belying its 1.3 million population.
The city's main art galleries are conveniently clustered together in a 'museum quarter' near the Königsplatz (King's Square), which was modelled on the Forum in ancient Rome, complete with surrounding temples.
Johann Georg von Dillis (1759-1841), Der Tegernsee, 1825 (New Pinakothek)
Munich's newest gallery, Museum Brandhorst (Türkenstrasse 19), is also its most striking thanks to 36,000 vertical ceramic rods in 23 colours covering the facade. Sparkling by day and glowing by night, the building is practically a work of art in itself. Opened in May 2009, it houses a collection of 700 works of modern art donated by its main patrons, Anette and Udo Brandhorst. About half of the collection is dedicated to American modern and contemporary work, notably Pop Art, including pieces by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Ed Ruscha. The American artist Cy Twombly has two rooms dedicated to his work. European artists, such as Damien Hirst, Joseph Beuys and Gerhard Richter, are also represented. www.museumbrandhorst.de
Museum Brandhorst
The Old Pinakothek (Barer Strasse 27) contains one of Germany's most important collections of Old Masters, 14th to 18th century European paintings by the likes of Dürer, Rembrandt, da Vinci and Rubens. (A 'pinacotheca' was a picture gallery in ancient Greece and Rome.) www.altepinakothek. de
The New Pinakothek (Barer Strasse 29) showcases 18th and 19th century European paintings and sculpture, such as English landscape, French Impressionism and art nouveau. There are works by Goya, Turner, Manet, Cézanne and others as well as the German Romanticists. www.neue-pinakothek.de
As well as contemporary art,
the Pinakothek Modern is home to Germany's largest
architectural collection. Pictured: Olympic Stadium, Berlin
The Pinakothek Modern (Museum of Contemporary Art, Barer Strasse 40) is Europe's largest museum structure. Opened in 2002 to consolidate into one collection works from municipal galleries throughout the city, its design features tall glass facades around a central rotunda. High-ceilinged rooms are flooded with light. The Modern Art Collection includes major Surrealist, Expressionist and Pop Art works (Magritte, Dali, Picasso, Beuys, Warhol, German Bauhaus, etc.), while the new media section features video installations by Bruce Naumann. www.pinakothek.de
Germany's very first museum, the Glypothek (Königsplatz 3) houses Greek and Roman antiquities, notably sculpture and statuary, collected by the Bavarian King Ludwig I on his travels. Across the street is the State Collections of Antiquities (Königsplatz 1). www.antikensammlungen.de
Haus der Kunst (House of Art)
The Italianate villa home of the Lenbachhaus City Gallery is currently closed for remodeling and extension by the international architectural practice Foster + Partners. Until summer 2012, exhibitions continue in the Kunstbau (Art Building), its annex above the Königsplatz underground station, and in the Kubus building in Petuelpark. The Lenbachhaus is renowned for its outstanding pieces by the artists' group Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), which included Paul Klee and Vassily Kandinsky. (It has Germany's largest collection of Kandinsky's work.) Its collection also includes 18th and 19th century Munich artists, art nouveau and contemporary art. www.lenbachhaus.de
Near the Englischer Garten, Munich's main playground, the Haus der Kunst (House of Art, Prinzregentenstrasse 1) is a colonnaded slab of Third Reich architecture originally built by the National Socialists to show the best 'German art', meaning stolid sculptures and paintings peopled by blond-haired, blueeyed Aryans with square jaws. (The entire Nazi leadership attended its opening in 1937.)
Today, the focus is on contemporary and avant-garde art, photography and installation. www.hausderkunst.de
ALSO WORTH A VISIT
The Glypothek
Built in the Gothic style, the National Museum (Prinzregentenstrasse 3) houses one of Europe's leading art and cultural history collections, including paintings, sacred art, folk art and crafts. www.bayerisches-nationalmuseum.de
For a cultural tour of the world, head for the Völkerkundemuseum (Museum of Ethnography, Maximilianstrasse 42), where 150,000 exhibits are arranged in seven permanent exhibitions themed by region, from Native American tepees and African masks to Asian statues and South American textiles. www.voelkerkundemuseum-muenchen.de
EXCURSION
Kandinsky, Squares with concentric circles, 1913
(Lenbachhaus City Gallery
HOW TO GET THERE
easyJet flies daily excl. Tuesday from Edinburgh direct to Munich. Fares from £55.98 ret., incl. all charges. www.easyjet.com
