Museum der bildenden Künste

The Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig (Museum of Fine Arts Leipzig), often simply called the Bildermuseum (Picture Museum), is one of the most important art museums in Germany and is run by the City of Leipzig. Its history goes back to 1837, when the Leipzig Art Association was founded to create a municipal collection. The museum first opened in 1848 in the Erste Bürgerschule (First Citizens' School) before moving in 1858 to a purpose-built building on Augustusplatz. This historic Neo-Renaissance building was destroyed in a British air raid in 1943. The decades that followed were marked by a series of temporary solutions in buildings such as the former Reichsbank and the Reichsgericht (Imperial Court of Justice), since the extensive holdings could only be displayed in part. It wasn't until 2004 that the museum found a permanent home in a modern new building on Katharinenstrasse.

The museum building you see today, designed by Karl Hufnagel, Peter Pütz and Michael Rafaelian, offers more than 10,000 square meters of exhibition space, enough for a comprehensive presentation of the collection. The collection includes about 3,500 paintings, 1,000 sculptures and 60,000 graphic works from the late Middle Ages to the present. Particularly noteworthy are works by Dutch and German Old Masters, including Frans Hals and Lucas Cranach the Elder, as well as Romanticism, represented by Caspar David Friedrich. German painting of the 19th and 20th centuries is also strongly represented, with a focus on the Düsseldorf School and the so-called Leipzig School, whose artists include Bernhard Heisig, Werner Tübke and Wolfgang Mattheuer. In the contemporary section, you will find works by younger generations such as Neo Rauch and Daniel Richter. Sculptural highlights include Max Klinger's Beethoven sculpture and Bertel Thorvaldsen's Ganymede.

Besides the permanent collection, the museum regularly presents changing special exhibitions that enrich its cultural offerings. The tradition of generous donations, which already led to the museum's founding, continues to this day; for example, extensive holdings of French Impressionists and a significant photography collection from the BMW Group have been given to the museum. In the foyer, a donors' mosaic commemorates the most important patrons. You can not only view the artworks in a quiet atmosphere but also take part in educational programs, guided tours and courses designed for different age groups and interests. The new building is set within the newly created museum quarter, which provides an attractive setting for your visit.