There are four galleries that make up the Pinakotheken:
- Alte (Old) Pinakothek - 14th to 18th centuries: around 700 masterpieces including works by Albrecht Dürer, Peter Paul Rubens, and Leonardo da Vinci;
- Neue (New) Pinakothek - 19th century and very, very early 20th century: over 400 paintings and sculptures ranging from Classicism to Jugendstil. Among the particular highlights are the paintings of the German Romantics and French Impressionism, including works by Caspar David Friedrich, Edouard Manet, Paul Cezanne and Vincent van Gogh;
- Pinakothek der Moderne (Modern) - 20th century: four museums covering modern art, graphics, architecture, and design; and
- Museum Brandhurst - ultra-contemporary
The galleries are easily accessible from the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) - either by U-bahn, tram, or a 30 minute walk - I opted to take the U-bahn.
Surprisingly, photos (without flash, of course) are allowed in all of the galleries; however, all of the works have glass, so there is a lot of reflection, and so I was limited in which ones I could actually get a shot of - but I gave it my best shot on some of my favourites.
I will put the photos in the order that they were presented in the galleries, so that means that they will be largely chronological, or at least in stylistic order.
To tackle this chronologically, let's start with the Altes Pinakothek:
Of all of the "Madonna and Child" paintings I've seen (and believe me, I have seen many), this would have to be my favourite; as soon as I rounded the corner, I was taken by it.
Apart from the stylisation, and putting it into the context of the age of the painting, rather than in the time of its setting, it is one of the most honest representations of the two - as people - that I think I've seen.
It is undated, but it turns out it was painted by Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), which I didn't know when I took the photo.
- I generally don't like the early religious paintings - I can appreciate the artistic talent in some of them, but they don't really tickle my fancy.
- I don't like much of the modern and contemporary - I just don't get much of it.
- You can spot a master from a mile away, even before you know who it's by - there's generally just something about them.
By now I was just about museum-ed out, and I'm sure nobody will be too surprised to learn that I opted out of the ultra-contemporary option!
Instead, I decided to use the rest of the day at Schloss Nymphenburg, a palace not too far from the museum complex; however getting there required taking the U-bahn back into the city, and then hopping onto a tram - lucky I bought that weekly ticket (13.70 euros definitely well-spent, I would say).
Schloss Nymphenburg (literally "Nymph's Castle"), built in the Baroque style, was the main summer residence of the rulers of Bavaria of the House of Wittelsbach. The central pavilion was completed in 1675, but with ongoing additions and modifications continuing well into the 19th century. The baroque facades comprise an overall width of about 700 metres. Some rooms still show their original baroque decoration while others were later redesigned in rococo or neoclassical style. The 200-hectare (490-acre) park, once an Italian garden (1671), was enlarged and rearranged in French style, and was finally redone in the English manner during the early 19th century.
Schloss Nymphenburg is within the Munich city boundary, around 5km west of the Hauptbahnhof (main/central train station). The map shows just how extensive the grounds are, with the palace sitting at the eastern end (where the marker is located); you can also clearly see the private canals that run through the property, which during its heydays hosted all sorts of boating parties on the lakes. What is now parkland was, for many years, the private hunting grounds of the royals, and contain four smaller garden palaces. |
If you're only going to see one palace in Europe - don't make it this one, unless of course Munich is the only place you're visiting. At 6 euros it's not the most expensive, but then it doesn't deserve to be either; the interior is not particularly interesting, with only part of one floor open to the public, and only 2 of the rooms actually furnished. However, the park is quite something, and worth the visit if you are in Munich (and its free to enter and wander around - so you can see the gardens, the park, and the outside of the building, which is the most impressive part).