Gemäldegalerie der Akademie der bildenden Künste — Attraction in Vienna

The Vienna Academy, founded in 1692, was not lucky enough to own a collection of paintings, as did most contemporary academies. This changed only by the generous patronage of Count Lamberg Sprinzenstein, who in 1822 bequeathed his widely famous collection of about 800 paintings of the Imperial Academy. The founder's testamentary specifications regarding publicity and catalog production made the "Gräflich Lamberg'sche Gemähldegalerie at the Academy of Fine Arts" in Vienna the first art museum in an institution. At the same time, the collection was also accessible to art students and teaching. Gradually, the aristocratic stock of images was established primarily as an important element of artist education, which should characterize the weighting of the art gallery for a long time - even in the 1970s, the copying in the art gallery was part of the education to become an academic painter.

In 1877 the academy, together with its collections in Theophil, moved Hansen's elegant academy building to Schillerplatz, which is located on Ringstrasse. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the collection itself was considerably enlarged by numerous generous donations from the public and private sectors and today has almost 1600 inventory numbers. In view of the developments in contemporary art, in which the study of the old masters at the Vienna Academy had lost its original relevance, in the late 20th century the focus was again on the quality and international standing of Lamberg's first-class collection.

The Gemäldegalerie, today one of the three important Old Masters collections in Vienna, has now primarily the obligation to present their holdings museal the public - both in the permanent exhibition and in exhibitions - to explore them and publish them in catalog form. As a consequence of its historical development, which grew out of Lamberg's donor will, it is still anchored legally and organisationally at the Kunstuniversität today. One of its tasks is to support teaching. In Vienna, therefore, is the only surviving example among the early Academy foundations, in which the old and new art are still united under one roof. Neither from the profile of the contemporary academy nor from that of the Gemäldegalerie is this conditionality, rooted in their common history, enriching both sides...

Rude staff

I visited the paintings gallery and the contemporary art exhibition. In the paintings gallery you can see Bosch, Van Dyck, Botticelly, Rubens, Rembrandt, Waldmüller and a special exhibition about Cranach the Elder. It was a Friday afternoon on 24.01.25 and I was the only one visiting the gallery at the time. While quietly gazing at a Bosch painting in the gallery, one of the museum guards, a lady with a Spanish accent, approached me and told me that there isn't much time left. I told her it was 17:42 and they close at 18:00 and I had 18 minutes left. Her answer was "Yes, 15 minutes but still..." I understand she probably wanted to leave earlier than the normal closing time at 18, but I was not holding her to do overtime, I was within the opening hours and I found her trying to pressure me to leave earlier very rude and unprofessional. However, another one of the museum guards offered me this link to see all the art online, which is pretty cool...

Although the gallery has a really beautiful collection of old master works on display, the exhibition itself is poorly curated, if not banal. But the absolute worst part of visiting this gallery is the visiting itself. It's the second time I was followed everywhere and stared at by the gallery guards to the extend that I felt completely uncomfortable and with absolute no feeling of privacy while watching the works. One feels not like a museum visitor but more like a thief or an unwanted guest. I don't recommend this place, not even to art...