Anthony van Dyck – celebrated all over Europe for his portraits of the rulers, military commanders, artists, and beauties of his time. He captured his subjects with unparalleled vitality while also clearly denoting their status. Yet Van Dyck’s path to fame was not easy: his artistic beginnings were shaped by the famous Peter Paul Rubens: the equally admired and almost unassailable role model. Early histories testify to an intense engagement with Rubens, but also a tough struggle against his overpowering precedent. It was only in Italy, under the influence of Venetian painters, of Titian and Tintoretto, that Van Dyck found his own style. His portraits are marked by a sensitive observation of personality, which he represented with an equally fine, almost tactile rendering of fabrics, presented against a backdrop of stately décor. This exhibition presents the results of a research project over several years, exploring in particular the genesis of Van Dyck’s works and his workshop practice. The Alte Pinakothek’s own Van Dyck collection will be enriched by international loans, including drawings and oil sketches, allowing the visitor to follow the artist’s working process.
After four decades of unbroken use as a museum and exhibition space, the Neue Pinakothek (rebuilt in its current form in the 1970s) has had to shut its doors for extensive renovation and modernization work due to last several years. During this period, selected major works of 19th century painting and sculpture from its collection will be on display in the Alte Pinakothek and at the Sammlung Schack. Selected highlights range from key works of Neoclassicism and Romanticism to the dawn of Modernism.
The collection of the Alte Pinakothek, one of the most significant in the world, encompasses over 700 artworks from the 14th to the 18th centuries. Here, milestones of the European painting tradition join to form a survey, in unique concentration, that spans the development from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance and Baroque, through to the late Rococo period. Experience encounters with works by Dürer, Raphael, Leonardo, Titian, El Greco, Rubens, Rembrandt, Boucher and their contemporaries. The museum, contracted by the Bavarian King Ludwig I, was built by Leo von Klenze between 1826 and 1836 in the Neoclassical style, which at the time represented a new and pioneering effort in European museum architecture. Originally, the Alte Pinakothek was intended to make sufficient space available for the art collection of the House of Wittelsbach. Over and above this, King Ludwig I sought to use the construction of the Alte Pinakothek as a means of providing the general public access to his collection. In addition to the permanent presentation of outstanding works from the golden ages of German, Flemish, Dutch, French, Italian and Spanish painting, a host of temporary special exhibitions, guided tours and events make a visit worthwhile.