Vienna: A City of Art

[smallhobbit]

One of the places that SM particularly wanted to visit was the Belvedere, so we took the subway across the centre of Vienna to see it.  We'd walked everywhere the previous day.  The building was impressive, and the great hall is definitely imposing:



It contains an impressive collection of art, including David's famous Napoleon at the Great St Bernard Pass:



And a significant number of Klimt's:





Including 'The Kiss'



My favourite is the third one 'Cottage Garden with Sunflowers'.  I'd really like to do that as my next cross stitch project.

Then the following afternoon we had a couple of hours left before we planned to head back to the hotel.  I suggested we walk around the outside of the Hofburg Palace.  We headed in the general direction and found ourselves facing the Albertina Museum, which we talked about visiting but hadn't got round to.  So we went in.  The entrance price was a little high but we thought it would be worth it for a couple of hours.  Firstly, they currently have an exhibition of 100 Monet paintings tracking the change in his paintings from the early stages to the end of his life.  It was amazing - I didn't take any photos, but did sketch parts of some of paintings.  It was quite busy in there, but this wasn't so much tourists as locals who'd come to enjoy this amazing exhibition which is on for 3.5 months.

From there we went upstairs to a collection of Munch, Chagall and Picasso, amongst others.  A great display of paintings from the twentieth century.  After which we went back downstairs to visit the State Rooms.  These 20 rooms have been restored to be as they were under the later Habsburgs.  Absolutely beautiful, and unlike many such rooms these had a sense of being light and airy and instead of being kept to one small part of each room, visitors could wander round.  Again no photos - I spent all my time drinking in the appearance.

Fortunately, Wednesday was one of the days the museum is open to late, because otherwise we'd have been kicked out.  As it was we didn't get to visit all the exhibitions, but after a good three hours walking round we didn't have any energy left.

This was slightly rectified by stopping for pancakes on the way to the subway station.  I should point out that Vienna lived up to its reputation for coffee and cake - we made a point of having cake every day.

Comments

[badly_knitted]

Magnificent building, and beautiful inside.

So much art! I don't know a lot when it comes to paintings though I've seen pictures of the most famous ones, but I always wished I could go to a gallery and just immerse myself in art. Seeing the originals on display has to be quite an experience.

[smallhobbit]

A wonderful building. Lots and lots of art (and there was plenty more in the city we never got to - for which my feet were grateful!). Just seeing the actual paintings really is something - there's a connection with the artist and it all seems that bit more intense.

[badly_knitted]

Yes, sightseeing is wonderful, but hard on the feet... >.<

I can imagine! Glad you got to enjoy the experience =D

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Wow! So much art! That's wonderful! I bet your feet were hurting, however. Yea for cake! And Viennese coffee is good.

[smallhobbit]

The art was just great. As was the cake. I don't drink coffee, but SM was very taken with it.

[scfrankles]

Pleased to hear that cake was had ^__^

The Belvedere looks fabulous - I particularly like your second photo of it. And I had a look at the Albertina Museum's State Rooms via your link - really lovely. I'm very taken with the Audience Hall ^_^

[smallhobbit]

Couldn't go to Vienna and not eat cake!

The Belvedere was impressive. And the Albertina's State Rooms were splendid, really worth visiting.

[howsmyenglish]

this is such a beautiful post - as if I had spent just a little time there myself and seen some of the paintings, and taken a whiff of the pancakes... thanks! I enjoyed this post with my breakfast :)

[smallhobbit]

Thank you. I'm delighted you enjoyed the post.

[moth2fic]

I remember seeing a lot of art in Vienna - so glad you managed to get in some really good visits!

[smallhobbit]

We chose carefully as to which art we saw, knowing there wouldn't be time to see more. And we made good choices, given our own preferences.

[adafrog]

Wow, sounds like some great museums.

[smallhobbit]

They were really worth visiting.

[aome]

I remember what a big deal they made about Klimt's "The Kiss" being in Vienna when I was there for a week as part of my summer exchange student trip. I have to admit, it's not really my style of art, but every time I see Klimt's work I think of Vienna. :) The building is gorgeous, though!

[smallhobbit]

I preferred some of the other Klimt paintings, which I've included here. Plus 'The Kiss' because I couldn't not see it. And the building is very impressive.

[margaret_r]

The Belvedere looks incredible and the interior stunning! I love Monet's work and took a look at your link, beautiful pieces there. You really have seen a lot of Vienna. But it is a wonderful city.

[smallhobbit]

The Belvedere was definitly worth seeing. And the Monet exhibition was excellent. We saw as much as we could given time and feet considerations.

[corvidology]

What a great collection to get to visit.

[smallhobbit]

It was - so much wonderful art around.

[meridian_rose]

Thank you for the link to these! I love seeing people's photos of places they've visited.
A cross stitch of the Cottage Garden with Sunflowers would look amazing!

[smallhobbit]

Thank you very much.

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