Museum Through the Eyes of Its Staff: Alte and Neue Pinakothek in Munich Staff Picks

Both Alte Pinakothek and Neue Pinakothek, Munich’s two most famous galleries, are located in the museum quarter in the very center of the city. The Alte Pinakothek, which is one of the oldest galleries in the world, presents works by some of the key European Old Masters, focusing on paintings from the 14th to the 18th century. The Neue Pinakothek, completed in 1859 as the first museum for contemporary art in Europe, showcases works of the 18th and 19th centuries. Its collection includes the masters of Neoclacissism and Romanticism – Jacques-Louis David, Francisco Goya, and Caspar David Friedrich, as well as the most famous Impressionists and Post-Impressionists such as Édouard Manet, Vincent van Gogh, and Paul Cézanne. The Neue Pinakothek is currently undergoing a major renovation. Until its reopening in 2029, selected masterpieces are on display at the Alte Pinakothek.

Are you curious to know what are the favorite artworks of the people who work in those grand institutions?

1. Self-Portrait by Rembrandt

Bernd Ebert, Chief Curator of Dutch and German Baroque Painting

Tiny it is! With only the size of a postcard this panel painting is indeed one of the smallest artworks in our vast collection of 17th-century Dutch art. But despite its size it is at the same time one of the most popular. The depiction of a young man is not only an authentic work ‘by’ Rembrandt but also a depiction ‘of’ Rembrandt. Is it a self-portrait then?

Yes and no. It is actually a ‘character-study’ that the artist used to practice various facial expressions, personal moods, light reflections and painting techniques. The 23-year-old is shown with an expression of surprise, his mouth open and his eyebrows raised. We just caught him unexpectedly! To me, this painting is like a time machine: We actually look Rembrandt in the eyes.

2. Mystical Marriage of St Catherine by Lorenzo Lotto

Johanna Pawis, Research Associate

Catherine of Alexandria certainly was a saint with a mind of her own: a sharp-witted princess, she is said to have been a woman who eloquently stood up for what she believed in – not even letting herself be deterred from the path she had chosen by fifty philosophers the Roman Emperor had summoned to mansplain her into submission. Determined to devote her life to Christ, she boldly rejected the proposal to which the emperor had resorted in a last attempt to conquer her will. In a moment of great distress, Catherine relied on her visionary mind to transport herself to a different realm of reality, where Christ himself appears to her, placing a ring on her finger to confirm their commitment.

The vibrantly inventive Venetian painter Lorenzo Lotto envisioned this scene as a moment of speechless mystery as Christ bends forward from the tender touch of his mildly melancholic mother, his fingers just barely meeting Catherine’s. To me, this painting ultimately is about the power of imagination which can create a sense of real, deep connection even through space and time – just like art itself. Perhaps that’s why I find myself drawn to this picture in moments when I, too, long for some respite from the clamor of everyday life, and the gentle delicacy of Lorenzo Lotto’s painted vision has never failed to offer me solace or even just a moment of reverie when I needed it.

3. Reading Woman by Pieter Janssens Elinga

Marlena Schneider, Conservator (Doerner Institut)

I saw this painting by Pieter Janssens on one of my first days at the museum in the depot. It suddenly took me back in time – not to Baroque Holland, but to my childhood, because a print of this work always hung above the large cupboard in my grandmother’s living room. It’s been nine years since I last sat in that living room. It’s interesting to think about the existence of this picture, which I never attached much importance to as a child. It was just always there, in its simple matter-of-factness. How many quiet hours did this stranger in the act of reading, and my grandmother share in that big house? Today I look forward to it every time I clean the frames in the gallery, linger a little longer and once again have Grandma’s familiar fabric softener in my nose and the constant ticking of her clocks in my head.

4. Susanna and the Elders by Albrecht Altdorfer

Gabriel Dette, Chief Curator of Early German and Early Netherlandish Painting

Choosing a single favorite painting in the Alte Pinakothek? Impossible, there are far too many… But Albrecht Altdorfer’s Susanna and the Elders is certainly one of them: The painting overwhelms the eye with countless miniature-like details in a fantastic architectural setting and a breathtakingly vivid and atmospherically charged landscape, all executed with the utmost painterly perfection – and hidden within is the story of Susanna, a strong woman who is slandered by two malicious men and in the end successfully defends herself against the false accusations.

5. Landscape on Lake Geneva by Ferdinand Hodler

Anke Palden, Information and Services

The Landscape on Lake Geneva by Ferdinand Hodler is one of my favorite works from the Neue Pinakothek, the highlights of which are currently on display in the Alte Pinakothek. The painting reminds me of my student days when I spent a lot of time in the mountains during the summer holidays. Whenever I see this painting with these fantastic shades of blue, I am reminded of that wonderful time and would love to stand on this grassy hill and start hiking. In Japanese, there is the word ‘natsukashii’, which can be used to express the longing for a beloved place. And this word perfectly captures the feeling I get when I look at this painting, even though I have never been to Lake Geneva myself.

6. The Choir of St. James’s Church in Utrecht by Pieter Jansz. Saenredam

Alexander Brockhoff, Scientific Trainee

Whenever I work on my projects at Alte Pinakothek, I take a moment to stop by Pieter Saenredam’s painting Interior of St. James’ Church in Utrecht in cabinet 19 on the upper floor. As an art historian specialized in architectural history, I am fascinated by this painting from 1642. Dutch Baroque painter Pieter Jansz. Saenredam (1597-1665) was a pioneer of architectural painting both in his day and in his country. Almost deserted interior views of Dutch sacred buildings in precise perspective are typical for his works. In our motif, too, the depth effect of the bright church interior dominates. The clear contours of the architecture underline the contrast between the tall building and the tiny staffage figure with a dog. This overall composition gives the scene a noticeable sense of calm and has a totally calming effect on me.

7. The Daughters of Leucippus by Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Wildens

Mirjam Neumeister, Chief Curator of Flemish Baroque Painting

I have many favorite works in the Alte Pinakothek, but I am particularly enthusiastic about The Daughters of Leucippus. Many people don’t like Peter Paul Rubens because of the lavish figures and the exuberant compositions. But if you take a closer look at the painting, you can see that Rubens is competing with sculpture! A sculpture has the advantage that you can look at it from all sides, but through the many views of the people and horses – sometimes frontal, sometimes in profile, sometimes from behind – Rubens shows that this is just as possible in the medium of painting. With one decisive advantage: unlike sculpture, painting has colors. And how sensually Rubens can paint! You can almost feel how soft and warm the women’s skin is to the touch. But for all the beauty, it is an assault that is depicted and needs to be punished: one of the men dies and, as they are twins, they are transferred to the heavens as a constellation – Castor and Pollux.

8. Fir Trees in the Snow by Caspar David Friedrich

Charlotte Neugebauer, Marketing Manager

Quite a difficult task to pick just one artwork. But one small-format, perhaps somewhat kitschy-looking painting from the collection of the Neue Pinakothek caught my eyes on my first visit to the museum. Painted by Caspar David Friedrich around 1828, it shows a growing spruce forest covered in a very fine layer of snow. The sky, slightly cloud-covered, shimmers in a pink-blue dawn mood. Fresh forest air is guaranteed. The amazing thing is the arrangement of the trees, which are posed like in a family portrait: the big ones at the back, the little ones in the front. When I see the picture, I think of the Christmas tree trade on Munich’s Theresienwiese, except that the felled trees offered for sale there can no longer grow into a spruce thicket. Better to go to the museum instead.

9. Grape and Melon Eaters by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

Haydar Koyupinar, Head of Photo Department

The picture enchants me every time I stand in front of it. The only way I can explain it is that the two children are so uninhibitedly happy while eating the sweet fruit that it gives me hope, no matter what situation you are in, whether with fine Italian designer shoes or with bare, dirty feet, melons and grapes always taste the same. And the unbiased view of a child should be evoked from time to time.

You can read more about this masterpiece here.

10. Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh

Klara Mowitz, Intern

Vincent van Gogh once said: “Still-lifes are the beginning of everything.”  The high proportion of yellow gives me a feeling of sunshine and warmth. At the same time, I also recognize a certain melancholy in the sunflowers, as Van Gogh also used darker shades of yellow (to quite some extend). Some of the flowers are bent, symbolizing their decay.

I find it impressive that Van Gogh manages to unite both sides in his flower still life. In this way, he illustrates the cycle of life, which consists of good moments as well as bad ones. Thus, the transience of flowers is suspended – they would actually wither over time, but in Van Gogh’s work they become immortal. And the artist himself also became immortal through his art, because his motif is still very popular over 100 years after his death. In Van Gogh’s words, the flower still-life is the beginning of his immortality.