History of the Paintings Gallery



 
The painting shows a group of 20 elegantly dressed artists positioned in a circle around a male nude model. They are in the process of depicting him in a realistic manner. Some are painting on large canvases or drawing on sheets of paper, while others are sculpting the nude model. In the room there are several wooden standing tables and crates with oval openings, allowing them to be carried. These objects serve as shelves, seats or holders for canvases. The male nude model is on a pedestal in the middle of the room. He is sitting with his legs spread on wooden crates, over which a white fabric is draped, holding his head. His face is not visible. He has short brown hair, which distinguishes him from the other men, who wear white powdered baroque wigs with curly rolls.
Martin Ferdinand Quadal (1736–1808), The Life Class of the Vienna Academy in the St Anne Building, 1787 © Paintings Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna

The Academy and the beginnings of the collection

Founded in 1692, the Viennese Academy of Fine Arts was one of the first art schools in the German-speaking area. Its earliest collection of paintings dates back to the 18th century and mainly comprises "admission works" by Academy members and "prize works" by students awarded for their contributions to the annual exhibitions. These paintings served as teaching models in art lessons.


Austrian painter, Painting Class at the St. Anna Building, c. 1825 © Paintings Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna


The foundation of a public art museum

The Paintings Gallery actually came into being when, in 1822, Count Lamberg-Sprinzenstein, a Habsburg diplomat with noted success in Turin and Naples, bequeathed his internationally renowned collection of approximately 800 paintings to the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. Lamberg's generous donation was, however, subject to the condition that these paintings be displayed publicly so as to be made accessible to everyone. Thus, the Paintings Gallery at the Academy – at that time still located in the former St. Anna convent near Kärntnerstraße – became Vienna's first art museum at a public institution.

This portrait, stretched in a large, sumptuous gilt frame, shows Count Lamberg-Spritzenstein. The count is portrayed in a seated position from the waist up. His hands rest crossed on a walking stick in front of his chest. His head is turned towards the viewers. The count is depicted with very fair skin and wears a baroque, white-powdered wig with the hair combed strictly back and coiffed in curls on the sides. He wears a brown jacket with a large collar and two rows of round golden buttons. The same buttons are also on the sleeves. Around his neck, the count wears a white frilled collar tucked into his jacket. Under his right arm he holds a black historical tricorn hat. He appears to be sitting in front of an olive green wall. The picture is painted in a realistic style with clear lines. The count looks young, about 30 to 35 years old. His facial expression is serious.
Christian Kollonitsch, Portrait of Anton Count Lamberg-Sprinzenstein, 1770 © Paintings Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna


The Paintings Gallery of the Academy on Schillerplatz

Since 1877, the Paintings Gallery has been displayed in the grand palace designed by Theophil Hansen for the Academy of Fine Arts on Schillerplatz . It can still be found in the elegant, historically furnished exhibition rooms on the first floor, amid the artists' studios and lecture rooms. Its stocks were significantly enlarged, especially in the 19th century, through state purchases and further generous donations by aristocrats and citizens alike, also in the 20th century. In 1988, the Academy's Collection of Plaster Casts was added.

In the centre of the photo is the front façade of the building of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. The four-storey building has many high semi-circular windows, between which are semi-circular niches with sculptures. The ochre façade is richly decorated and has a white plinth. The roof is flat and the front façade is divided into a central wide section and two tower-like side sections. In front of the building is the Schillerplatz with the park and the Schiller monument. As the trees are completely bare, it can be assumed that the photo was taken in winter.
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, exterior view © Paintings Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna

With Count Lamberg’s bequest to the Imperial Academy, the collection had come under the protection of the sovereign. After the fall of the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy and the establishment of the First Austrian Republic in 1918, all the collections of the Academy became the property of the Austrian state.The holdings have held this status again since 1945 in the Second Republic. This was not changed by the fact that, when the Universities Act (UG 2002) came into force, the Paintings Gallery (now part of the Art Collections alongside the Glyptothek and the Kupferstichkabinett) has been organisationally integrated into the University of the Arts, which is governed by private law.

Restored and modernised, and continually adapted to meet the requirements of energy efficiency and climate protection, the Paintings Gallery now presents itself as a modern museum with changing exhibitions and a new transhistorical programme.

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Paintings Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna

Schillerplatz 3, 1. floor
1010 Wien

Opening hours
Daily except Monday
10–18 h

P +43 588 16 2201
F +43 588 16 2299
kunstsammlungen@akbild.ac.at

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