The Liechtenstein Museum is a private

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. A ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. It contains much of the art collection of its owners, the

Princely Family of Liechtenstein The House of Liechtenstein, from which the principality takes its name, is the family which reigns by hereditary right over the principality of Liechtenstein. Only dynastic members of the family are eligible to inherit the throne. The dynasty's m ...

, rulers of the principality of

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

. It includes important European works of art, forming one of the world's leading private art collections. Its highlight used to be

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

's portrait of ''

Ginevra de' Benci ''Ginevra de' Benci'' is a portrait painting by Leonardo da Vinci of the 15th-century Florentine aristocrat Ginevra de' Benci (born ). Exhibited at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., it is the only painting by Leonardo on public ...

'', which was acquired in 1967 by the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

in Washington, D.C. The museum, which was originally open to the public from the early 19th century until the

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...

of 1938, had various locations, including the Liechtenstein Garden Palace (''Gartenpalais'') at Fürstengasse 1 in Vienna's 9th District (

Alsergrund Alsergrund (; Central Bavarian: ''Oisagrund'') is the ninth district of Vienna, Austria (german: 9. Bezirk, Alsergrund). It is located just north of the first, central district, Innere Stadt. Alsergrund was incorporated in 1862, with seven suburbs. ...

), and the Liechtenstein City Palace (''Stadtpalais'') at Bankgasse 9 in Vienna's 1st District (

Innere Stadt The Innere Stadt (; Central Bavarian: ''Innare Stod'') is the 1st municipal Districts of Vienna, district of Vienna () located in the center of the Austrian capital. The Innere Stadt is the old town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expa ...

). The museum was reopened on 29 March 2004 in the Garden Palace, but after battling with low visitor numbers, it was closed for regular visiting by the public in November 2011. According to the official website of the Garden Palace, "the highlights of the princely collections can be viewed exclusively as part of an event package or a pre-booked guided tour". Objects from the collection have been sent on touring exhibitions to museums in other countries, especially the United States. In particular, displays are regularly mounted at the

Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein The Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein (English: ''Liechtenstein Museum of Fine Arts'') is the state museum of modern and contemporary art in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. The building by the Swiss architects Meinrad Morger, Heinrich Degelo and Christian Kerez ...

Vaduz Vaduz ( or , High Alemannic pronunciation: [])Hans Stricker, Toni Banzer, Herbert Hilbe: ''Liechtensteiner Namenbuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Fürstentums Liechtenstein.'' Band 2: ''Die Namen der Gemeinden Triesenberg, Vaduz, Schaan.'' Hrsg. ...

, which is otherwise a gallery for a modern art collection donated to the principality of Liechtenstein by the ruling family. Other works from the collection fill the palaces and residences of the Princely Family in Liechtenstein and Austria. A catalogue of the artists (with short biographies) featured in the gallery at the time of Prince Joseph Wenzel was compiled by Vicenzo Fanti in 1767.

Liechtenstein Garden Palace

The ''Gartenpalais'' was built by Prince Johann Adam Andreas von Liechtenstein, who commissioned its design and construction from

Domenico Egidio Rossi Domenico Egidio Rossi (1 September 1659, Fano – 19 February 1715, Fano) was an Italian architect and master builder, most notable for his design of the Schloss Rastatt. Biography Born in Fano Fano is a town and ''comune'' of the province of ...

; the shell was finished in 1700.The history of the construction is in Günter Passavant, ''Studien über Domenico Egidio Rossi und seine bauküstlerische Tätigheit innerhalb des süddeutschen und österreichischen Barok''(Karlsruhe: Braun) 1967:109-23. Painted décor in the ''Gartenpalais'' was contributed by

Marcantonio Franceschini Marcantonio Franceschini (; 1648 – 24 December 1729) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mostly in his native Bologna. He was the father and teacher of Giacomo Franceschini.''The picture collector's manual'' by James R. Hobb ...

Antonio Bellucci Antonio Bellucci (19 February 1654 – 29 August 1726) was an Italian soldier who became a painter of the Rococo period and was best known for his work in England, Germany, and Austria. He was one of the many Venetian-trained artists of his time ...

Andrea Pozzo Andrea Pozzo (; Latinized version: ''Andreas Puteus''; 30 November 1642 – 31 August 1709) was an Italian Jesuit brother, Baroque painter, architect, decorator, stage designer, and art theoretician. Pozzo was best known for his grandiose fresc ...

and

Johann Michael Rottmayr Johann Michael Rottmayr (11 December 1656 – 25 October 1730) was an Austrian painter. Biography Rottmayr was born in Laufen an der Salzach, Bavaria. Along with his Laufen-born contemporary, Hans Adam Weissenkircher, he received his edu ...

. Sculpture came from Giovanni Giuliani and his studio, and

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

from the stuccator Santino Bussi.

Artworks (selection)

File:Raphael - Portrait of a Man (L.M.).jpg,

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

, ''Portrait of a Man'' File:ST_JOHN_THE_BAPTIST_IN_THE_WILDERNESS_LIECHTENSTEIN._THE_PRINCELY_COLLECTIONS.jpg,

Giulio Romano Giulio Romano (, ; – 1 November 1546), is the acquired name of Giulio Pippi, who was an Italian painter and architect. He was a pupil of Raphael, and his stylistic deviations from High Renaissance classicism help define the sixteenth-centu ...

, ''St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness'' File:VALENTIN_DE_BOULOGNE_-_Concert_avec_une_diseuse_de_bonne_aventure_-_A_Musical_Company_with_a_Fortune-Teller_(Reunion_with_a_Gypsy)_1631_LIECHTENSTEIN_COLLECTION_PRINCIERE.jpg,

Valentin de Boulogne Valentin de Boulogne (before 3 January 1591 – 19 August 1632), sometimes referred to as Le Valentin, was a French painter in the tenebrist style. Origins Valentin was born in Coulommiers, France, where he was baptised in the parish of Sai ...

, ''A Musical Company with a Fortune-Teller'' ("Reunion with a Gypsy") File:Rubens - Mars et Rhea Silvia.jpg,

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...

, ''

Mars and Rhea Silvia ''Mars and Rhea Silvia'' is a 1617 painting by Peter Paul Rubens, now in the Liechtenstein Museum in Vienna. It shows Mars's rape of Rhea Silvia, which resulted in the birth of Romulus and Remus In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus (, ) are ...

'' File:Rubens-Auffindung des kleinen Erichthonios durch die Töchter des Kekrops.jpeg, Rubens, '' Finding of Erichthonios by Kekrops' daughters'' File:Peter Paul Rubens 136.jpg, Rubens, ''Lamentation of Christ'' File:Peter Paul Rubens - Albert and Nicolaas Rubens - WGA20372.jpg, Rubens, Portrait of his sons Albert and Nicolaas File:Peter Paul Rubens - Portrait of a Young Girl - WGA20359.jpg, Rubens, Portrait of his daughter Clara File:Peter Paul Rubens - The toilet of Venus.jpg, Rubens, ''Venus making her toilet'' File:Frans Hals - Portret van een man.jpg,

Frans Hals Frans Hals the Elder (, , ; – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, chiefly of individual and group portraits and of genre works, who lived and worked in Haarlem. Hals played an important role in the evolution of 17th-century group ...

, ''Portrait of a man'' File:Anthonis van Dyck 021.jpg,

Van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh c ...

, ''Portrait Marie Louise of Taxis'' File:Mercury Duquesnoy.jpg,

François Duquesnoy François Duquesnoy or Frans Duquesnoy (12 January 1597 – 18 July 1643) was a Flanders, Flemish Baroque sculptor who was active in Rome for most of his career. His idealized representations are often contrasted with the more emotional character ...

, ''

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

'' File:Gerard Dou - Violon Player - WGA06663.jpg,

Gerard Dou Gerrit Dou (7 April 1613 – 9 February 1675), also known as Gerard Douw or Dow, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, whose small, highly polished paintings are typical of the Leiden fijnschilders. He specialised in genre scenes and is noted for his '' ...

, ''Violinist'' File:Herman Posthumus 001.jpg,

Herman Posthumus Herman may refer to: People * Herman (name), list of people with this name * Saint Herman (disambiguation) * Peter Noone (born 1947), known by the mononym Herman Places in the United States * Herman, Arkansas * Herman, Michigan * Herman, Minneso ...

, ''Landscape with ruins'' File:Jan Miense Molenaer - The King Drinks - WGA16099.jpg,

Jan Miense Molenaer Jan Miense Molenaer (1610 – buried 19 September 1668), was a Dutch Golden Age genre painter whose style was a precursor to Jan Steen's work during Dutch Golden Age painting. He shared a studio with his wife, Judith Leyster, also a genre p ...

, 1636-37, ''The king drinks'' (

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

festivities) File:Moroni Prospero Alessandri 1560.jpg,

Giovanni Battista Moroni Giovanni Battista Moroni ( – 5 February 1579) was an Italian painter of the Late Renaissance period. He also is called Giambattista Moroni. Best known for his elegantly realistic portraits of the local nobility and clergy, he is conside ...

, Prospero Alessandri File:Giovanni di Niccolò Mansueti 001.jpg, Mansueti, ''The Taking of St. Marc'' File:Rape of the Sabine Women by Sebastiano Ricci.jpg,

Sebastiano Ricci Sebastiano Ricci (1 August 165915 May 1734) was an Italian painter of the late Baroque school of Venice. About the same age as Piazzetta, and an elder contemporary of Tiepolo, he represents a late version of the vigorous and luminous Cortonesqu ...

, ''Rape of the Sabine Women'' File:Francesco Salviati 008.jpg, Salviati, Portrait of a young man File:Friedrich von Amerling - Mädchen mit Strohhut.jpg,

Friedrich von Amerling Friedrich von Amerling (14 April 1803 – 14 January 1887) was an Austro-Hungarian portrait painter in the court of Franz Josef. He was born in Vienna and was court painter between 1835 and 1880. With Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller he is one of ...

, ''Girl with a straw hat'' File:Liechtenstein Palais Wien5.jpg, Golden carriage of Joseph Wenzel I. of Liechtenstein (1738) File:Francisco Hayez - Vengeance is Sworn.jpg,

Francesco Hayez Francesco Hayez (; 10 February 1791 – 12 February 1882) was an Italian painter. He is considered one of the leading artists of Romanticism in mid-19th-century Milan, and is renowned for his grand historical paintings, political allegories, and ...

, '' Vengeance is Sworn''

Notes

External links

*
Liechtenstein Garden Palace webpageFirearms from the collections of the Prince of Liechtenstein
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material from the Liechtenstein Museum
Peter Paul Rubens: the Decius Mus cycle
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which focuses on this work from the Liechtenstein Museum {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Alsergrund Art museums and galleries in Vienna Private collections in Liechtenstein House of Liechtenstein Austria–Switzerland relations Historic house museums in Austria Gardens in Austria Liechtenstein art Art museums established in 2004 2004 establishments in Austria ru:Дворец Лихтенштейн