Munich is southern Germany’s art central – and its collections rank among the best in the world.
Over 80 museums cover a wide variety of media and time periods. Many are conveniently located near one another in the Kunstreal district. As a bonus, some have an entrance fee of just €1 on Sundays, making them a great option if you’re on a budget.
King Ludwig I of Bavaria was a fanatical art collector and his acquisitions form the basis of many of the collections of Munich’s museums. This tradition of art collection has continued to the present day as well; the Museum Brandhorst houses the collection of Udo Brandhorst, a major German art collector.
Nor was Munich only a place where art was collected – especially in the late 19th and 20th centuries, it was home to major art movements such as Der Blaue Reiter and the Munich Secession. The Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich was one of the leading institutions of art training during the same period, while the art magazine Jugend was one of the most influential of its time.
Keep reading to find out 10 paintings in Munich you absolutely must see!
Table of Contents
1. Self-portrait at twenty-eight
Artist: Albrecht Dürer
Year: 1500
Location: Alte Pinakothek
About: Nuremberg native Albrecht Dürer was THE artist of the German Renaissance. Famous for his prints and engravings (the oft reproduced “Praying Hands” is one of his works), he also created watercolors, portraits, and books.
Dürer’s Self-portrait at twenty-eight was the last of his three painted self-portraits. It is unusual in that it depicts the artist in a fully frontal pose – one that was usually reserved for religious art. The curled brown hair, hand raised in a gesture of blessing, direct gaze, and initials “AD” – which could stand for “Albrecht Dürer” or “Anno Domini,” the year of the Lord – all serve to make this one of Dürer’s most compelling paintings.
Curious about other notable paintings at the same museum? Check out the 10 Unmissable Paintings in the Alte Pinakothek here!
2. Lola Montez
Artist: Joseph Karl Stieler
Year: 1847
Location: Gallery of Beauties, Nymphenburg Palace
About: Ludwig I of Bavaria was not only a great collector and admirer of art – he was also a great collector and admirer of beautiful women. Between 1837 and 1850, he had court painter Joseph Karl Stieler paint portraits of the best-looking women of the day, without regard to social rank. The series of 38 portraits are exhibited in what’s known as the Gallery of Beauties in Nymphenburg Palace.
Lola Montez was an Irish dancer and the most notorious of Ludwig’s mistresses. The affair scandalized Munich society and her political meddling led in part to Ludwig’s downfall and abdication. Lola later emigrated to the United States, where she died.
3. Blue Horse
Artist: Franz Marc
Year: 1911
Location: Lenbachhaus
About: Der Blaue Reiter group was formed in Munich in 1911. Falling under the umbrella of German Expressionsim, the group’s leading artists included Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, and Gabriele Münter. Der Blaue Reiter disbanded at the outbreak of World War I, a conflict in which Marc would lose his life.
Blue Horse showcases founding member Marc’s love of horses and the color blue – both of which gave the group its name. The painting is exhibited in the Lenbachhaus, one of the most important collections of German Expressionism in the world.
4. Sunflowers
Artist: Vincent van Gogh
Year: 1888
Location: Neue Pinakothek
About: Van Gogh paintings are almost always among the star attractions wherever they’re exhibited. Munich has a few, most prominent of which is a painting from his Sunflowers series.
This particular iteration was painted when van Gogh was in Arles. He was preparing to have his friend and fellow artist Paul Gaugin stay with him, so he must have been in a good mood, as the painting displays a cheeriness that belied van Gogh’s usual inner turmoil.
5. Lepanto
Artist: Cy Twombly
Year: 2001
Location: Museum Brandhorst
About: Cy Twombly was one of the 20th century’s most prominent painters – considered by some to be second only to Picasso. Lepanto is one of his most monumental works, consisting of a series of twelve canvases which recall one of the most famous and important naval battles of history. (Side note: One of the commanders of the Holy League was John of Austria, who was born in the Bavarian city of Regensburg.)
Lepanto is displayed in a purpose-built room at the museum, designed specially to incorporate light as an important element of the piece itself. It was thanks to both this room and Udo Brandhorst’s friendship with the artist that the museum was ultimately rewarded the privilege of exhibiting Lepanto.
6. The Poor Poet
Artist: Carl Spitzweg
Year: 1839
Location: Neue Pinakothek
About: Carl Spitzweg was one of the leading painters of the Biedermeier period (approximately 1815 to 1848). Dominant in central Europe, the artistic style mainly depicted everyday and idyllic subjects and was considered comforting and boring, but was popular among the growing middle class.
Spitzweg’s The Poor Poet, on the other hand, is anything but boring. It is a caricature of an impoverished poet who pays no mind to material things but focuses only on the spiritual. The poet has become a familiar figure in German consciousness and the painting is Spitzweg’s best-known work.
7. Hirtenknabe
Artist: Franz von Lenbach
Year: 1860
Location: Sammlung Schack
About: Franz von Lenbach was a well-known portrait artist in his day, painting the likenesses of figures such as Pope Lex XIII, Bismarck, and William Gladstone. Hirtenknabe (or “The Goat Herder” in English) dates from the early part of his career, when he was still focused on nature and genre themes.
One of von Lenbach’s patrons was Count Adolf Friedrich von Schack, who promoted burgeoning German artists. Schack was also a prominent collector of contemporary German Romantic painting, and it is his collection – Hirtenknabe among them – which is now on display in the Sammlung Schack.
8. Dancer
Artist: Oskar Schlemmer
Year: 1922-23
Location: Pinakothek der Moderne
About: Oskar Schlemmer was a German artist associated with the Bauhaus school, a German art school that had a major influence on architectural design, but which experimented with other forms of art as well. Schlemmer’s most famous work is Triadisches Ballett (Triadic Ballet), one of the most widely performed avant-garde dances.
Dancer evokes this ballet, portraying the strong geometry and bold colors that are integral to Schlemmer’s dance. The costume worn by the dancer in the painting recalls the style of those worn in the ballet – as if Schlemmer wanted to capture his chef d’oeuvre on canvas.
9. The Guardian of Paradise
Artist: Franz Stuck
Year: 1889
Location: Museum Villa Stuck
About: Bavarian native Franz Stuck came to Munich to attend the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich; he would remain the city the rest of his life. He became a prominent figure in Munich’s art scene, winning a gold medal for The Guardian of Paradise, his first large scale oil painting, at the Glaspalast’s 1889 exhibition. In 1892, he co-founded the Munich Secession.
The Guardian of Paradise is today kept at his former home, Villa Stuck. Designed by the artist himself, Stuck poured out his love of ancient, Byzantine, oriental, and Renaissance aesthetics into the house. The result makes the villa itself as worthy of admiration as the priceless artwork inside.
10. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Artist: Joseph Karl Stieler
Year: 1828
Location: Neue Pinakothek
About: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was 79 years old when Stieler painted him in 1828. The portrait was commissioned by King Ludwig I of Bavaria. Goethe holds one of the king’s poems in his hand – ironically, the German language’s greatest poet holds the work of a man whose own poetry was notoriously bad.
Honored today as the German language’s greatest literary figure, Goethe wrote in a variety of literary forms, from plays to poems to scientific treatises. His most famous work is the tragic drama Faust, a staple of world literature.
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