Munich: Four Museums Offer A Journey To Antiquity

By Dean Gregory, to Museum Spotlight Europe

The Vatican and Capitoline Museums in Rome, the British Museum in London and Le Louvre in Paris deservedly attract art enthusiasts in Europe eager to experience the cultural treasures of antiquity. However, the art museums of Munich, Germany, offer a unique portal into ancient times that captures the origins of Western Civilization and its evolution into contemporary times. From the mummies of Egypt and the marbles of Greece and Rome to the brushstrokes of contemporary master Cy Twombly, Munich offers a unique perspective on the crucible of the Western tradition.  Discover below four museums in Munich that will transport you centuries back, while providing a glimpse into the promise of art in the 21st century.

Museum Ägyptischer Kunst München

Featuring a medley of precious objects of art from Ancient Egypt, the Museum Ägyptischer Kunst München boasts a collection of 8,000 items of which 2,000 are on permanent display, including mummies, statues, sculptures, artifacts, jewelry and textiles, among other precious works. The collection endows visitors with an education covering 5,000 years of Egyptian art and culture from the early, middle and late kingdoms through the times of Hellenism, Roman rule and the Coptic era. The highlights of the institution include the duplex statue of the pharaoh Nyuserre Ini as an elder man and as a youth as well as the statues of the pharaohs Ramses II, Thutmose III and Amenemhat III. Guests find the sphinx of Sesostris III and the sarcophagus lid of queen Sitdjehuti beguiling, while the glass cup with the inscription of Thutmose III, dating back to 1450 B.C., serves as the oldest glass vessel on human record.

Founded originally in the state collection of Bavaria by Duke Albrecht V in the 16th century, the museum grew particularly with the involvement of Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria as well as King Ludwig I. Designed by the architect Peter Böhm, the new museum space opened in 2013, echoing the design and ambiance of an ancient Egyptian burial chamber. Upon entering the museum, guests encounter a portal wall recalling the pylon gateways of Egyptian temples. From the illuminated entrance hall, visitors move into three spacious halls and later into more compact areas with darker lighting into the subterranean catacombs. Themed rooms include “The Pharaoh”, “Realm of the Dead”, “Egypt in Rome” and “After the Pharaohs”.

Glyptothek

Captivated by the culture of ancient Greece, Ludwig I, who served as King of Bavaria from 1825 to 1848, established the Glyptothek with the vision of making Munich a center of art in Europe – the “Isar Athens”, as he referred to it. With this objective in mind, Ludwig I spared no expense in accumulating, with the help of his brilliant art dealer Johann Martin von Wagner, a collection of Greco-Roman sculptures of exquisite caliber. The antiquities in the Glyptothek date from the Archaic period in the 6th century B.C. through Classical times in Greece and the Hellenistic epoch through the Roman Empire and the end of antiquity. The marble sculptures originate from hallowed sanctuaries, funerary monuments and public spaces. In addition, visitors enjoy marble portraits of renowned cultural and political figures of Greco-Roman antiquity such as Homer, Plato, Alexander the Great and Marcus Aurelius.

As the oldest public museum in Munich, the Glyptothek is the only institution in the world committed exclusively to ancient sculpture. The museum’s name stems from a creative play on the ancient Greek words “glyphein”, which means “to sculpture”, and “theke”, which means repository. In other words, the word “Glyptothek” represents a storage space for sculptures. Inspired by the architecture of ancient Roman bath buildings, the museum features large windows that nurture continuous daylight by opening up the walls down to the floor onto the inner courtyard. Combined with the State Collection of Antiques on the southern end of the Königsplatz in Munich, the Glyptothek boasts one of the preeminent collections of Greek and Roman art worldwide.

Staatliche Antikensammlungen

Complementing the treasures of the Glyptothek, the Staatliche Antikensammlungen offers a celebration of Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiquities. Beyond the marbles of the Glytothek, the museum features diverse works made from stone, metal and ceramic dating from Cycladic civilization into the end of antiquity. Shaped by King Ludwig I, particularly in acquiring pieces from Rome in the 19th century, the origins of the museum stem from the curiosities collected by    Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria in the 16th century. New acquisitions were made in the 20th century to enhance the breadth of the institution, namely terracottas from the esteemed archaeologist Paul Arndt. Following World War II, the museum received the collection of Hans von Schoen and that of Helmut Hansmann, which features in excess of 700 ring stones and gems. Designed by Georg Friedrich, the physical space functions as a temple for art. 

The Brandhorst Collection

Although the Brandhorst Collection functions principally as a space for contemporary art, a special exhibition for the American painter and sculptor Cy Twombly lasting until August 2018 bridges the art of antiquity with modern times. Twombly drew significantly on the history, art and literature of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome during his illustrious career in creating seminal works. Visitors particularly witness this influence in his maritime-themed sculpture Winter’s Passage: Luxor, which illustrates how in Egyptian and ancient Greek culture, the passage from life to death is symbolized as a tranquil boat ride into the “realm of shadows.” The poetry of the German poet Rilke, who like Twombly spent time on the Nile, is referenced by the American artist. Further, broader Mediterranean history echoes through Twombly’s epic Lepanto series on display, which renders his vision of the naval battle between the Ottoman Empire and the Christian European Holy League in 1571 on the Gulf of Patras in Greece. The 12-panel work draws from rich seafaring themes dating back to antiquity found in the works of Homer as well as takes inspiration from the Venetian painting tradition embodied by Titian and Tintoretto.       

Visitor information:

All of the museums are located in walking distance from each other in the center of Munich and are easily accessible by public transportation and taxi. On Sundays, entrance to the institutions is usually discounted, making them ideal for young families traveling together.