Description of the attraction
The Kunsthistorisches Museum was opened in 1891. It is located just south of the Old Town, the distance from this museum to St. Stephen's Cathedral is no more than one kilometer. The museum collection mainly consists of works of art and antiquities collected by representatives of the imperial dynasty of the Habsburgs. It is the largest art museum in all of Austria.
Opposite the Kunsthistorisches Museum is the Natural History Museum, made in the same neo-Renaissance style. The building itself is notable for its great length and is crowned with a powerful octagonal dome, the height of which reaches 60 meters. The interiors are richly decorated with marble, gilding and stucco.
The collection of the museum is divided into several sections - the art of Ancient Egypt and the Near East, ancient Greek and Roman antique art, halls with sculptures and much more. Separate galleries are dedicated to decorative art objects, as well as collections of old coins. There is also a large city library on the territory of the museum.
However, the most popular section of the museum is its art gallery, which houses works by Italian, Flemish and Dutch artists. Among the "Old Masters" it is necessary to note Titian, Raphael, Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt, Bosch and, in particular, Pieter Bruegel the Elder. It is believed that the museum houses about a third of this Flemish artist's artwork. Also here are the unique jewelry works of Benvenuto Cellini, which have not been preserved anywhere else.
The art gallery also has sections dedicated entirely to Austrian Gothic and Austrian Mannerism. There are also works by some French, Spanish and English artists, for example, Nicolas Poussin, Diego Velazquez and Thomas Gainsborough.
