Albertina Art Museum

The Albertina is an art museum in the inner city of Vienna’s first district.It holds one of the world’s most important graphic collections, among other things.

The museum is situated in the Palais Archduke Albrecht, a historic Habsburg mansion.Albert Casimir, Duke of Saxe-Teschen, Archduchess Maria Theresa’s son-in-law, formed the collection in 1776 in Pressburg, while he served as Maria Theresa’s agent for the Kingdom of Hungary.In 1792, he was able to transport a substantial portion of the collection from the Austrian Netherlands, where he afterwards served as the Austrian monarch’s ambassador, to Vienna.From the Renaissance to the present, the encyclopaedic and international collection contains almost one million drawings and prints.

The Albertina Art Museum, located in the center of Vienna, is an acclaimed institution that captivates both art connoisseurs and inquisitive tourists. This historic icon offers a unique voyage through the sphere of artistic expression and innovation, with its vast collection of masterpieces spanning ages.

The Albertina Art Museum houses a diverse collection of artworks spanning from classical to modern, giving art enthusiasts with an all-encompassing experience. The museum’s architecture, housed within the imposing Palais Albertina, is a sight to see, oozing elegance and majesty. Its sumptuous exterior sets the tone for the enthralling riches hidden within.

Stepping into the Albertina Art Museum immerses one in a realm of creative enchantment. The museum has approximately a million artworks in its collection, which includes paintings, sculptures, graphic works, and photography. Its vastness and diversity make it a refuge for art aficionados looking to immerse themselves in numerous creative trends and styles.

The museum’s painting collection is especially well-known, with works by famed painters like as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Rembrandt, and Monet. Each brush stroke and brilliant colour is scrupulously kept, allowing visitors to enjoy the fine details and become immersed in the artist’s vision. The Albertina Art Museum brings visitors through the annals of art history, from the ethereal elegance of Renaissance painting to the aggressive brushwork of the Impressionists.

Aside from paintings, the museum has an outstanding collection of graphic works highlighting the skills of sketching and printmaking. The Albertina Art Museum houses the delicate accuracy of line etchings, the rich textures of woodcuts, and the elaborate patterns of engravings. This one-of-a-kind collection reveals the exquisite workmanship and artistic inventiveness that these mediums offer.

The museum’s excellent collection of photographic works will provide relief to photography fans. The Albertina Art Museum acknowledges the growth and relevance of photography as an art form, from old black and white photographs chronicling historical moments to modern explorations of the medium. Each snapshot tells a story, catching a fleeting moment in time and encouraging viewers to reflect on its meaning.

Aside from its significant art collection, the museum hosts a variety of exhibitions and educational events, ensuring that all visitors have a dynamic and interesting experience. Temporary exhibits highlight world-renowned artists, bringing new viewpoints and cutting-edge works to the forefront. These exhibitions allow visitors to interact with current art trends and experience the ever-changing world of creation.

The museum provides guided tours and educational programs for individuals interested in learning more about art. Expert curators offer comprehensive comments on the historical context, artistic techniques, and cultural importance of the artworks on display. These immersive experiences stimulate communication between the spectator and the artwork, as well as a better understanding for the subtleties of art.

The Albertina Art Museum also has an outstanding library, which has a large collection of books, catalogs, and research periodicals. This priceless resource serves as a focus for research and academic endeavors, boosting the museum’s function as a center for intellectual interaction and aesthetic development.

The Albertina Art Museum is a tribute to art’s lasting power and capacity to transcend boundaries. Its enormous collection, which includes a wide range of creative techniques and movements, welcomes visitors on a mesmerizing trip through history and culture.

The collection

Duke Albert’s collection is one of the world’s most important art collections.For more than 50 years, he acquired 14,000 drawings and 200,000 prints through a European network of merchants and auctions from enormous private collections.Many of the great drawings, from Michelangelo’s masculine nudity to Dürer’s “Hare” to Rubens’ portraits of children, are now considered among the most recognized works in art history.

Duke Albert acquired the most crucial impetus for the collection from his art-interested and art-loving wife, Archduchess Maria Christine, who was also able to financially assist him with her vast fortune.Artists from the early 15th to the early 19th century are represented in the ducal collection.Duke Albert organised his collection meticulously from the start, according to art historical criteria, schools, and art landscapes.German and Austrian painters come in first, followed by Dutch, Italian, and French artists.

Albert collected works by modern painters (“Maîtres Modernes”) more often in the latter two decades of his life.They account for around one-third of his drawing collection.Albert’s designs are all stamped with his monogram “AS” for Albert of Saxony, which he designed himself.In addition to historical and genre paintings, Duke Albert preferred landscapes above all.The collector appreciated works that were meticulously drawn and colored or pictorially worked out with wash: the drawing fascinated him as a work comparable to the painting with its own aesthetic characteristics, only inherent in the “light” drawing.

Duke Albert designated his graphic collection as an indivisible and inalienable entailed entail in 1816, which meant that it first fell to his universal heir and adoptive son Archduke Karl in 1822, followed by Archdukes Albrecht (statue in front of the palace) and Friedrich, both monarchy generals like Karl.As a Habsburg entail, the building and art collection were subject to Habsburg law once the monarchy ended, and so became Austrian state property in April 1919.The entire collection has been kept to this day.

The 25,000-volume library and furnishings, on the other hand, were once the private property of Archduke Friedrich, who withdrew them in 1919 and sold them to various buyers.However, in recent years, the Albertina has bought a number of pieces of furniture that were required for the authentic outfitting of the Habsburg representative rooms in the palace.

The Albertina houses five collections (as of 2020):

Graphic collection: around 950,000 drawings and prints, sculptures and ceramics
Architectural Collection: 50,000 plans, sketches and models
Photo collection: 101,000 individual objects
Batliner Collection , Classic Modern, since 2007
Essl Collection , since 2017/2018

The focal points of the graphic collection are:

Albrecht Durer and his time
The Italian Masters of the Renaissance
Dutch art of the 16th and 17th centuries
Italian Baroque and Late Baroque
18th Century French Drawings
Austrian watercolor painting of the 19th century
Vienna around 1900
Classic modern and contemporary art

History

The Albertina was built atop one of Vienna’s few intact defenses, the Augustinian Bastion. Originally, the Hofbauamt (Court Construction Office) stood at that area, which was erected in the second part of the 17th century. In 1744, the director of the Hofbauamt, Emanuel Teles Count Silva-Tarouca, rebuilt it to become his residence, and it became known as Palais Taroucca. Duke Albert of Saxen-Teschen eventually took over the building and used it as his house. Albert later transported his graphics collection from Brussels, where he was governor of the Habsburg Netherlands. Louis Montoyer was hired to enlarge the building for him. Since then, the palace has been directly adjacent to the Hofburg. Albert’s successors added to the collection. The Palais Erzherzog Albrecht was named after his grandson Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen, who lived there until his death in 1895.

Duke Albert collaborated with the Genoese count Giacomo Durazzo, the Austrian envoy in Venice, to build the collection. In 1776, the count gifted the duke and his wife Maria Christina (Maria Theresa’s daughter) with over 1,000 works of art. Count Durazzo, the brother of Genoa’s Doge Marcello Durazzo, “wanted to create a collection for posterity that served higher purposes than all others: education and moral power should distinguish his collection.” In the 1820s, Archduke Charles, Duke Albert and Maria Christina’s foster son, commissioned Joseph Kornhäusel to make extensive changes to the palace, primarily to its interior ornamentation. The building was occupied by Archduke Charles, his son Archduke Albert, and Albrecht’s nephew, the popular Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen.

In early 1919, the new socialist government of Austria confiscated and expelled Archduke Friedrich’s building and collection without compensation. The collection of prints and drawings was combined with the previous Imperial court library collection in 1920. The building was renamed The Albertina in 1921.

The Albertina was extensively destroyed by USAAF bomb raids in March 1945. The structure was restored in the years following the war and was entirely repaired and upgraded between 1998 and 2003. When the graphics collection reopened in 2008, modifications to the external entry sequence, featuring a unique roof by Hans Hollein, were completed. In 2018, the Albertina acquired the Essl Collection, which included works by Alex Katz, Cindy Sherman, Georg Baselitz, Hermann Nitsch, and Maria Lassnig.

“Albertina modern” will open as a new museum of modern art on May 27, 2020. Albertina Modern’s collection includes around 60,000 pieces by 5,000 artists.

Vienna, Austria