The Pinakothek der Moderne (, '' Pinakothek of the Modern'') is a

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...

museum, situated in central

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

's '' Kunstareal''.

The building

Designed by German architect Stephan Braunfels, the Pinakothek der Moderne was inaugurated in September 2002 after seven years of construction. The $120 million, 22,000-square-meter building took a decade to finish because of bureaucratic objections to design and cost, which were ultimately bridged by private initiative and financing. The rectilinear facade, dominated by white and grey concrete, is interrupted by large windows and high rise columns, the latter supporting the extensive canopied roof. Each of the four corners of the building, connected by a central domed rotunda, is dedicated to a special collection. The Museum is thus divided into Art (Kunst), Architecture (Architektur), Design (Design) and Works on Paper (Graphik). The first floor, containing the art collection, has ample natural light from above, augmented by computer-controlled lamps, designed to keep a consistent, nearly shadowless illumination against the gray floors and white walls.

Collections

Before the opening of the Pinakothek der Moderne, art of the 20th century was largely relegated to the Haus der Kunst, or occasional contemporary exhibits in the Lenbachhaus.Desmond Butler (November 10, 2002)
A Home for the Modern In a Time-Bound City
New York Times Today, the Pinakothek unifies the "Sammlung Moderne Kunst" (National Collection of Modern and Contemporary Arts, which is under supervision of the Bavarian State Painting Collections), the "Staatliche Graphische Sammlung" (National Collection of Works on Paper), the "Neue Sammlung" ('New Collection': National Museum for Design and Applied Arts) with the "Architekturmuseum der Technischen Universität" (Munich Technical University's Museum of Architecture), in one building and is deemed one of the most important and popular museums of modern art in Europe. The Danner Foundation opened in 2004 a new permanent exhibition area in the basement for the permanent loans from the Danner Jewelry Collection which presents contemporary works from over one hundred international goldsmiths.

Collection of Modern Art

Since 1945 the collection, previously exhibited in the Haus der Kunst, has grown quickly by purchase, as well as donations by individuals and several foundations. Various

art movement An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific art philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a specific period of time, (usually a few months, years or decades) or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defined ...

s of the 20th century are represented in the collection, including

Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

, Fauvism, Cubism, New Objectivity, Bauhaus,

Surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art and Minimal Art. In addition to a focused collection policy to individual priorities, the portfolio was extended in particular through the collections: "Theo Wormland", "Sophie and Emanuel Fohn", "Woty and Theodor Werner", "Martha and Mark Kruss", "Günther Franke", "Klaus Gebhard", and the collection of Franz, Duke of Bavaria with contemporary German painters such as Jörg Immendorff and Sigmar Polke. Recent enrichment in the year 2006, the collection "Eleanor and Michael Stoffel". *

Modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

since the 1900s :The first floor of the west wing displays works of Georges Braque, Fernand Léger, Juan Gris, Umberto Boccioni,

Robert Delaunay Robert Delaunay (; 12 April 1885 – 25 October 1941) was a French artist of the School of Paris movement; who, with his wife Sonia Delaunay and others, co-founded the Orphism (art), Orphism art movement, noted for its use of strong colours and g ...

, Joan Miró and

René Magritte René François Ghislain Magritte (; 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgium, Belgian surrealist artist known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts, which often provoked questions about the nature ...

as well as Lyonel Feininger, Oskar Kokoschka,

László Moholy-Nagy László Moholy-Nagy (; ; born László Weisz; July 20, 1895 – November 24, 1946) was a Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian painter and photographer as well as a professor in the Bauhaus school. He was highly influenced by Constructivism (art), con ...

, Otto Dix,

Max Ernst Max Ernst (; 2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German-born painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and surrealism in Europe. He had no formal artistic trai ...

, Giorgio de Chirico,

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

and

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...

. Very comprehensive are the collected works of

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

and Max Beckmann. :The museum also displays masterpieces of ''German

'': representing painters of two early 20th-century German artist groups, Die Brücke (Bridge) and Der Blaue Reiter (The blue rider), whose members included, among others,

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (6 May 1880 – 15 June 1938) was a German Expressionism, expressionist Painting, painter and printmaker and one of the founders of the artists group Die Brücke or "The Bridge", a key group leading to the foundation of Expr ...

, Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Emil Nolde and Franz Marc, August Macke,

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

, Alexej von Jawlensky and

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky ( – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter and art theorist. Kandinsky is generally credited as one of the pioneers of abstract art, abstraction in western art. Born in Moscow, he spent his childhood in ...

. *

Contemporary Art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

since the 1960s :The museum also gives very profound insights into international contemporary art. In the first floor of the east wing the gallery displays works of

Lucio Fontana Lucio Fontana (; 19 February 1899 – 7 September 1968) was an Italian Argentines, Argentine-Italian painter, sculptor, and theorist. He is known as the founder of Spatialism and exponent of Abstract art, abstract painting as the f ...

, Alberto Burri, Jannis Kounellis, Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Robert Motherwell, Franz Kline, Antoni Tàpies, Cy Twombly,

Willem de Kooning Willem de Kooning ( , ; April 24, 1904 – March 19, 1997) was a Dutch-American abstract expressionist artist. Born in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, he moved to the United States in 1926, becoming a US citizen in 1962. In 1943, he married pa ...

, George Segal, Richard Serra, Dan Flavin,

Donald Judd Donald Clarence Judd (June 3, 1928February 12, 1994) was an American artist associated with minimalism.Tate Modern websit"Tate Modern Past Exhibitions Donald Judd" Retrieved on February 19, 2009. In his work, Judd sought autonomy and clarity for ...

, Fred Sandback, Joseph Beuys, Blinky Palermo,

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental Bronze sculpture, bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. Moore ...

, Marino Marini, Per Kirkeby,

Georg Baselitz Georg Baselitz (born 23 January 1938) is a German Painting, painter, Sculpture, sculptor and Graphic arts, graphic artist. In the 1960s he became well known for his Figurative art, figurative, expressive paintings. In 1969 he began painting his ...

Gerhard Richter Gerhard Richter (; born 9 February 1932) is a German visual artist. Richter has produced Abstract art, abstract as well as photorealistic paintings, photographs and Glass art, glass pieces. He is widely regarded as one of the most important con ...

, Sigmar Polke, Nam June Paik, Wolf Vostell, Bruce Nauman, Marlene Dumas, Günther Förg, Jörg Immendorff, Mike Kelley, Martin Kippenberger, David Salle, Rosemarie Trockel,

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English Painting, painter, Drawing, draughtsman, Printmaking, printmaker, Scenic design, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considere ...

, Hermann Nitsch and many others. * Video, Photos and New Media :The Pinakothek houses works of artists like John Baldessari (''Man running/Men carrying box'', 1988–1990), Teresa Hubbard / Alexander Birchler (''Eight)'', 2000), Bruce Nauman (''World Peace (projected)'', 1996), Pipilotti Rist (''Himalaya Goldsteins Stube'', 1998/1999), Hiroshi Sugimoto (''World Trade Center, Minoru Yamazaki'', 1997), Bill Viola (''Tiny Death'', 1993), Sam Taylor-Wood (''Soliloquy III'', 1998) and

Jeff Wall Jeffrey Wall, Order of Canada, OC, Royal Society of Canada, RSA (born September 29, 1946) is a Canadian photographer. He is artist best known for his large-scale back-lit Cibachrome photographs and art history writing. Early in his career, he h ...

with his back-lit boxes (''Eviction Struggle'', 1988; ''A villager from Aricaköyu arriving in Mahmutbey, Istanbul September 1997'').

Collection of design

The Collection of applied modernist art was founded in 1925. With around 70.000 objects of

industrial design Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in adva ...

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...

and the arts and crafts the "Neue Sammlung" is today one of the world's leading museums of 20th century

applied art The applied arts are all the arts that apply design and decoration to everyday and essentially practical objects in order to make them aesthetically pleasing."Applied art" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Art''. Online edition. Oxford Univ ...

, and indeed the largest of industrial design. Parts of the expanded collection are exhibited in the basement of the Pinakothek der Moderne. Among others objects about motor vehicle design, computer culture, design of artistic jewelry and furnitures (e.g. the collection of chairs of Michael Thonet) are exhibited.

Collection of works on paper

The Bavarian State collection of work on paper has its origin in the Wittelsbach collections, especially in the print room collection of Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria. The ground floor shows alternating exhibitions of one of the most important collection of works on paper in Germany, with old German, Dutch and Italian drawings (including masterpieces by

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer ( , ;; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer or Duerer, was a German painter, Old master prin ...

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

and

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

) and German and international drawings of the 19th–21st centuries, e.g. by

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work introduced new modes of representation, influenced avant-garde artistic movements of the early 20th century a ...

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

and

Museum for architecture

The museum of the Technical University of Munich started with a donation of King Ludwig II of Bavaria for the newly founded university in 1868 and is today the largest one in Germany. The museum shows altering exhibitions in the ground floor. The collection shows especially drawings, blueprints, photographs, models and computer animations about the work of notable architects like François de Cuvilliés, Balthasar Neumann, Gottfried Semper,

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , ; ), was a Swiss-French architectural designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture ...

, and Günther Behnisch.

Gallery

File:Wilhelm Lehmbruck Weiblicher Torso 1910 PDM Muenchen-4.jpg, Wilhelm Lehmbruck, ''Female Torso'', 1910 File:Pablo Picasso, 1911, La Femme au Violon, oil on canvas, private collection, on long-term loan to Bavarian State Painting Collections, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich.jpg,

, ''La Femme au Violon'', 1911 File:Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 1911, Bohemian Forest Lake, 81 x 90.6 cm, Pinakothek der Moderne.jpg,

, ''Bohemian Lake'', 1911 File:Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Elisabethufer 1913-1.jpg, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, ''Elisabethufer'', 1913 File:Robert Delaunay L'Équipe de Cardiff 1913 München.jpg,

, ''L'Équipe de Cardiff'', 1913 File:Franz Marc-Tyrol (Tirol) (1914).jpg, Franz Marc, ''Tyrol'', 1914 File:Macke, August - Mädchen unter Bäumen - 1914 - 2384 x 1773 px.jpg, August Macke, '' Girls in Green'', 1914 File:Juan Gris Die Bordeauxflasche 1915-1.jpg, Juan Gris, ''The Bordeaux Bottle'', 1915 File:Ernst Vögel FischSchlange 1919 20.jpg,

, ''Birds Fish Snake'', 1919 File:Oskar Schlemmer Tänzerin (Geste).jpg, Oskar Schlemmer, ''Dancer'', 1922-23

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2002 establishments in Germany Architecture museums in Germany Art museums and galleries in Munich Art museums and galleries established in 2002 Design museums Modern art museums National museums of Germany