Ancient heritage
Bavaria's thousand-year-old history is reflected in its dazzling cultural variety. From its Roman past, Bavaria has retained a certain taste for refinement. Ludwig I of Bavaria, a great collector of Greek and Roman sculptures, founded Munich's first museum to house his treasures. Today, the Glyptothek traces ten centuries of creation in volume: from the Munich Kouros (540 BC) to the end of the Roman era.
Bavaria, Christianized in the 7th century, developed a sacred art that would dominate for several centuries. Religious frescoes in Augsburg Cathedral, Augsburger Dom, have recently been dated to the year 1000. They thus become the oldest frescoes ever painted north of the Alps. Painted at great heights, they had been covered with lime before falling into oblivion. Renovation has revealed a soberly beautiful cycle depicting the life of St. John the Baptist.
Counter-Reformation
While northern Germany embraced the Lutheran Reformation, Bavaria remained attached to the Roman Catholic Church. Several artistic trends coexisted in its buildings, with Baroque and Rococo dominating. Originating in Italy, these trends spread to Bavaria from 1650, in reaction to the austerity of Protestantism. Baroque was seen as the ideal of the Counter-Reformation, with its luminous contrasts and exaggerations. Rococo flourished in the 18thcentury, particularly in frescoes and stuccowork.
Masters of the late Baroque or Bavarian Rococo, the Asam brothers worked all over Germany. Architects, sculptors, painters and stucco artists, they excelled in the ornamentation of churches and abbeys. Their masterpieces include Munich's Asamkirche, dedicated to St. John of Nepomuk in 1734, the frescoes in Freising's Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Corbinus, and Weltenburg's Kloster Weltenburg. On the ceiling, Cosmas Damian Asam painted his self-portrait smiling at the viewer!
Where can you enjoy Baroque and Rococo art?
Difficult to choose? Here are a few hints to guide you:
Ettal Abbey, Benediktinerbtei Ettal, founded in the 12th century in southern Bavaria, combines Alpine, Baroque and Rococo influences. Its immense dome, entirely covered in frescoes, is a splendid sight.
A Romanesque building, Bamberg Cathedral, Bamberger Dom St. Peter & St. Georg, is renowned for its superb Gothic sculptures, including the 13th-century equestrian statue, the Bamberger Reiter.
Baroque and rococo meet at Kloster Andechs. Founded in the 15th century, it overlooks Lake Ammersee. It also boasts a Biergarten, popular with Munich locals.
Passau's later Dom St. Stephan - St. Stephen's Cathedral - embodies the power of Passau in the 17th century. Its grandiose paintings and statuary make it the largest Baroque ensemble north of the Alps.
In Munich, the Theatinerkirche, or Theatins' Church, is enthroned on the magnificent Odeonsplatz. It foreshadows Bavaria's current cosmopolitanism. Built in the 17th century by the Bolognese architect Agostino Barelli, its decor is steeped in Italian art. The yellow Rococo façade was designed by Belgian architect François de Cuvilliés. Inside, the white stuccowork is strikingly sober. Staying in Munich, we push open the door of the 16th-century Church of St. Michael, Michaelskirche. Its countless statues have earned it the title of Renaissance masterpiece. It is also home to the tomb of King Ludwig II of Bavaria.
Dürer in Nuremberg
In the 15th century, German artists perfected their skills in Italy, in Assisi and Florence, at the height of the Quattrocento. The Renaissance codes of transalpine art spread throughout Germany. In the North, Lutheranism cut short religious art deemed too expressive as early as the 16th century. But in Bavaria, figures such as Dürer shaped the Northern Renaissance.
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) was the first German artist in his lifetime to achieve a reputation equal to that of the Italian masters. The master was born in Nuremberg, then one of the Empire's most dynamic centers. But Dürer was also a great traveler. In 1494, he set off alone for Venice to discover Antiquity. He produced sumptuous watercolor landscapes of Italy. On his return to Bavaria, he engraved theApocalypse. Renowned for his talents as a draughtsman, engraver and painter, the scholar was also a mathematician and art historian respected throughout Europe. It was he who elevated engraving to the same level as painting. Dürer was also the first artist to sign his drawings. A habit that would become a standard, as we all know. Admired for his self-portraits, his most famous works include The Hare and the Knight, Death and the Devil. TheAlbrecht-Dürer-Haus in Nuremberg is a must for anyone interested in this artist.
The Cranach family
The Bavarian Renaissance was also influenced by Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553). Painter, draughtsman and politician, he was introduced to art by his father. He then changed his name to Cranach, his hometown (Kronach). In 1505, he became a court painter in Wittenberg. Shortly afterwards, he collaborated with Albrecht Dürer on the illustration of a prayer book for Emperor Maximilian I. The painter proved to be an excellent portraitist. Court, church and bourgeois personalities posed before him. Later, he broadened his themes to include religious and mythological scenes. He befriended Luther and took part in the development of Protestant iconography. Known throughout Europe for his portraits and biblical subjects, he intensified his output with the help of his two sons, Hans and Lucas the Younger. Today, the works of this famous family of artists can be discovered throughout Bavaria. Would you like to follow in the footsteps of the Cranach legacy? This itinerary will take you on a tour of Bavarian towns and cities, from Kronach to Weimar, his final resting place. On the way, stop off in Coburg, Nuremberg and Eisenach. The sublime Virgin and Child with St. Anne (oil on limewood) is at theAlte Pinakothek in Munich. The collections of this exceptional museum include works by all the great masters: Dürer, Van Dyck, Rubens, Poussin... It's THE museum to visit!
Munich avant-garde
After a dull period, in 1892 the Münchener Secession rose up against conservatism. The ambition of the Münchener Secession group was to raise public awareness of plastic innovations. These artists paved the way for modernism. Max Liebermann, Hugo von Habermann, Reinhold Lepsius, Josef Block and Bruno Piglhein continued their work until the group was dissolved by the Nazi party in 1938. The survivors of the Second World War came together under the banner of the Neue Gruppe.
The Pinakothek der Moderne covers the entire European avant-garde from the 20th century to the present day. The painting section is housed in the Sammlung Moderne Kunst.
At the same time, the New Munich Artists' Association(Neue Künstlervereinigung München) was formed in 1909. At its head was the brilliant Russian artist Kandinsky. Its members intended to mark a break with Impressionism. All disciplines are welcome. NKVM's intention was announced in its manifesto: to rid art of the superfluous in order to value what really counts. To this end, they organized their first exhibition in December 1909 at Munich's Galerie d'Art Moderne Thannhauser. A total of 128 works were presented by 16 artists. Franz Marc and August Macke joined the group, which split up in 1911.
In the same year, the Blue Rider(Der blaue Reiter) brought together artists of varying degrees of Expressionist inspiration in Munich. Two group exhibitions were held in 1911 and 1912. Among its members were Kandinsky, Franz Marc and August Macke, joined by Paul Klee and Alfred Kubin. The blaue Reiter exhibitions were decisive in the rise of modern art in Germany. The first exhibition was held in Munich, then toured Europe. The second, held in Munich in February 1912, brought together German, Russian and French artists, including Braque, Delaunay, Picasso, Vlaminck and Derain. The artists who gravitated around the Blue Rider were driven by a shared belief in an art that knew, in Kandinsky's words, "neither people nor borders, but humanity alone". The extraordinary openness of this avant-garde group was crucial to the development of contemporary art.
To plunge into the heart of the Blaue Reiter, explore the Lenbachhaus. This museum boasts a unique collection of works by this movement that makes you want to believe!
Street-art
Munich leads the way in street art. No municipality before it had recruited an urban art manager. As a result, street art has become a harmonious (even polite) part of everyday life, and is the subject of a number of groundbreaking projects. In 2014, the region's dairy industry launched a competition aimed at graffiti artists. The winners were given seven farms to embellish on the theme of milk: Codeak in Swabia, Nea in Lower Franconia and, in Munich, Loomit, the forerunner of street art in Germany, admired for his ability to improvise according to the medium and materials at hand.
There's a long love affair between Bavaria and street art. The German tagging movement emerged in Munich in the early 1980s. Today, several associations offer guided tours while supporting public creation. In 2016, in the heart of Munich, the MUCA (Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art) formalized this mode of expression. Opened by two collectors, Christian and Stephanie Utz, it is Germany's first museum dedicated to street art. In its rooms, young graffiti artists are confronted with the elders, Banksy, Aiko or Zeus.
Contemporary
Discerning visitors to Munich's temple of contemporary art, the Museum Brandhorst. Behind its abstract painting-like façade, spaces are dedicated to Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly, Joseph Beuys and Mario Merz.
For photo enthusiasts, the Clair by Kahn gallery exhibits international masters (Jacques Henri Lartigue, Boubat, Lee Miller) alongside contemporaries such as Vera Mercer, Tomasz Lazar, Petr Lovigin and Frenchman Patrick Zachmann.
An alternative to the countless art galleries is to take the pulse of Bavarian creativity at the Open Westend. In a festive atmosphere, this annual event invites you to meet some 50 artists in their studios. Sculpture, painting, photography, all styles coexist in this bohemian district. Before you leave, don't miss Olafur Eliasson's sculpture Die Umschreibung, located at Ganghoferstrasse 29, a stone's throw from the French Consulate.
