A museum of contemporaries in Munich
The Brandhorst
MúzeumCafé 13.
Works of prominent contemporary artists are exhibited in Munich’s newest museum (open since 21 May 2009) housing the Brandhorst collection. In terms of art galleries Bavaria has been developing dynamically over the past decade. Now the Brandhorst Museum has become one of Europe’s most significant new institutions due not only to the greatness of the artists – including Joseph Beuys, Cy Twombly and Andy Warhol – but also the size of the building and the financial resources allocated for its operation. “The best spring gift Munich could have received,” journalists remarked in connection with the opening of the museum. Pausing by the corner of Türkenstrasse and Theresienstrasse, you cannot mistake it. Not only the size of the collection but also the quality of the exhibited works and the external appearance of the building make it a really lovely gift. Even in Munich the façade’s riot of colour is striking. The external walls are covered with 36,000 rectangular ceramic tiles of 23 different colours – darker shades at the bottom become lighter towards the top, the optical effect changing in line with weather conditions and the position of the sun. The museum stands in Maxvorstadt, right next to the historic old city where the museum district, the Münchner Kunstareal, meets the university quarter stretching to Schwabing. The Alte Pinakothek, built between 1826 and 1836 to the order of Bavarian king Louis I and housing masterpieces of 14th-18th century European painting and sculpture, is situated just a few hundred metres away. Opposite, on the northern side of the large park is the Neue Pinakothek, also originally built for Louis I to hold contemporary items of his time. This was destroyed during World War II and works of the 18th and 19th centuries were temporarily exhibited in the Haus der Kunst until the Neue Pinakothek was constructed to the design of Alexander von Branca in 1981. The block of Pinakothek der Moderne was built as the third component of the Kunstareal. Stephan Braunfels won the tender for the architectural design in 1992, but construction of the museum displaying 20th century art, design and photography was completed only by the third millennium. According to the original plans, Braunfels would have designed the fourth building of the Kunstareal, which would have primarily housed graphic art as well as the Brandhorst collection. However, not much time, energy and planning were needed to convince the Bavarian officials and primarily the then minister of culture, Hans Zehetmair, to house the collection in a separate building and to organise an international competition for its design. Hardly a few weeks after the death of his wife, Anette, in 1999, Udo Brandhorst and the Bavarian authorities signed an agreement and announced a tender competition. The winner was the Berlin firm of Sauerbruch&Hutton. A few years later, construction of the new museum was completed in almost record time and with a budget of hardly fifty million euros. The museum’s central unit, a white cube connecting several levels, houses works by one of the most prominent contemporary artists, Damien Hirst – Hymn and the glass cabinet with an ineffably long title containing pills. An Andy Warhol collection, arguably the largest in Europe, is also exhibited here. The top level of the museum is devoted exclusively to Cy Twombly. Udo Brandhorst purchased one of his graphic works in 1966 and he is the only artist whose oeuvre the couple attentively followed for decades. After viewing the works of art visitors can retreat to the hall in the south-west corner upstairs, sink into one of the comfortable armchairs and look out of the window taking up the whole of the wall to the other buildings.