Haltestelle: Pinakotheken
A bit of culture today... Topic: museums Munich has got quite a wide range of museums, among which the 3 "Pinakotheken" who are dedicated to painting:
- The "Alte Pinakothek", the old one, for painting of the 13th to the 18-19th century
- The "Neue Pinakothek", dedicated to the 18th to the beginning of the 20iest century
-The "Pinakothek der Moderne", specialised in Modern Art and Design
Three buildings, architecturallw very interesting (the Ancient Classic style building, the Sort of Bauhaus syle building, and the very modern, bright, white round style building), situated on the same block. Trambahn 27, Haltestelle Pinakotheken.
What's great is that not only are they close from my flat, but they are also only 1€ on Sundays.. At least, you cannot really be disappointed..
I did the three of them..
The Pinakothek der Moderne is really worth it.. Just turn your head, open your eyes, and you will discover, around the corner, Picassos, Lichtensteins, Miros, Basquiats, Warhols, Matisses, and so many other pieces from masters of the 20iest century.. I was really impressed by the quality and the numbers of the masterpieces there. And the building is really beautiful. Somehow reminded me of something in between the MOMA and the Guggenheim NY.. The design section is maybe a little bit too small, mainly showing chairs and seats of all sorts.
The Alte Pinakothek.. Unfortunately got bored in it. I would not advice it except if you are fan of Flamish, Dutch and German paintings, which I am not. You get to see some Italian paintings from for instance Raphael or Leonardo, but very few. The French section is very small, and the Spanish section only shows depressing pics by Goya, or of the 18th century.. Moreover, the building is very old, with a passed ugly red tapestry...
The Neue Pinakothek.... Somehow better than the Alte. If you forget about the 3 first quarters showing pics by unknown German painters (fro me) of the 18th centry, then I found it great!! The last quarter finally presents paintings of the 19th-20th century, and from the Impressionist movement, which is my favorite... The 3 last rooms are amazing, with Manets, Monets, Degas, Gauguins, etc.. But it's always the same problem... You only like what you know, what you feel comfortable and familiar with.
In the end, the big problem is that in none of the museum you get any explanation about what you see. You maw find titles and artists' names, but no further explanation. Which does not allow you to discover new painters... I find it is a shame.. Moreover, the organisation in the rooms did not seem so obvious to me. There was sometimes no coherence at all, just a series of paintings no one knew what to do with.. But maybe I have wrong habits with the Louvre...
Anyway, to conclude this long post: should you only visit one Pinakothek, choose the Modern one. And look at the architecture of the other ones
(Photo: Pinakothek der Moderne ' www.znt.de)