The world's largest Klimt collection at Wien Museum / 30.05.2012

The world's largest and most diverse Klimt collection is on display at Wien Museum.

On occasion of Klimt's 150th anniversary, the collection is be on display at Vienna's "Wien Museum" on Karlsplatz until 16 September 2012. For the first time ever, the entire collection is shown at once.

 

Over the years, the Klimt collection has been expanded by donations and purchases - not a single exhibit is on loan. The collection now comprises eight oil paintings, hundreds of original Klimt drawings, as well as Egon Schiele's drawing of Klimt on his deathbed. Further exhibits include posters from the Vienna Secession, photos of Gustav Klimt, his characteristic blue painter's coat, and "kitsch art" from the souvenir shop.

Precious pieces and scurrilous objects

The exhibition has several highlights: while "Portrait of Emilie Flöge" is the museum’s most famous and valuable piece, Klimt's oil painting of Pallas Athene is in particularly high demand as a loan to other museums.

Altogether, Wien Museum owns about 411 individual drawings by Gustav Klimt; due to their large number and the limited space available, the drawings have been placed close together on the walls of the exhibition rooms, producing a very special effect on spatial perception. The works are not labelled but numbered, and visitors are provided with a booklet that guides them though the exhibition.

Apart from artworks by Gustav Klimts, merchandising products and all kinds of scurrilous paraphernalia are displayed in the exhibition. The mix of exhibits is a provocative take on contemporary approaches to Klimt - from absolute reverence for his art to omnipresent kitsch.

Event details

• Klimt. Die Sammlung des Wien Museums
• Time: 16 May to 16 September 2012, open Tuesdays through Sundays and on public holidays from 10 am to 6 pm
• Venue: Wien Museum, Karlsplatz 8, 1040 Vienna

For more information visit http://www.wien.info/en/ or ask our friendly reception staff

See you in Vienna!!

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