Musée Unterlinden - Colmar (by kerouac2)
May 15, 2016 20:53:54 GMT
Post by Deleted on May 15, 2016 20:53:54 GMT
The Unterlinden museum of Colmar has been considered to be one of the finest museums of "regional" France for the past 150 years. It is not officially a national museum because it is not owned by the state, but it is under the administration of the national museum council. It is owned by the Schongauer Society, which is an autonomous association based in Alsace.
The association was created in 1847 when the first elements for a museum were collected and in 1852 numerous art objects were transferred to the association from the collections created by revolutionary sequester. The museum opened in 1853 in an abandoned Dominican convent. Since the revolution, the convent had served as military barracks, but the army had moved out a decade or two earlier.
Anyway, the museum has evolved over the years and is considered to be the showcase of the art of the Rhine Valley, particularly of the golden age of the Rhine in the 17th and 18th centuries. But over the years, it has become the "general" museum of Alsace, a bit similar to the Louvre in Paris with archeological collections from Gallo-Roman times but with elements continuing on to the 21st century. "If it's art, we'll find some place to put it." However, most of the collection since 1930 concentrates on the interaction between German and French modern art.
The museum boasts one absolute and total masterwork, which is what brings most people to visit: "le retable d'Issenheim" -- the Issenheim alterpiece painted by Matthias Grünewald between 1512 and 1516. One might think that it is traditional triptych with folding panels, but it has a lot more elements than one might imagine, and I got more of an impression of a super advent calendar with wings to fold in or out depending on the time of year, portraying the birth of Christ to his death. It is such an important work that it was taken to Munich after the Franco-Prussian war, where it was considered to represent the essential character of the German nation. It returned to Colmar in 1919. In 1939, it was hidden an a château near Limoges but after the "armistice" of 1940, it was returned to German annexed Alsace and hidden in the château of Haut-Koenigsbourg. The American army found it there in 1944, and in 1945 it was returned to the Unterlinden.
Anyway, the Unterlinden closed in 2012 for renovation and just reopened this year, which is what finally brought me to see it. 44 million euros were spent on the renovation, which is not at all finished yet, but people are flocking to see it. From what I saw, about 80% of the visitors are German or schweizerdeutsch (I am pretty good at recognising this language because it sounds a lot softer than German -- sort of like people speaking German with a French accent.). I came up on the museum from behind, which immediately indicates that there is still work to do.
The entrance is incredibly discreet with a tiny sign and just two small doors.
The association was created in 1847 when the first elements for a museum were collected and in 1852 numerous art objects were transferred to the association from the collections created by revolutionary sequester. The museum opened in 1853 in an abandoned Dominican convent. Since the revolution, the convent had served as military barracks, but the army had moved out a decade or two earlier.
Anyway, the museum has evolved over the years and is considered to be the showcase of the art of the Rhine Valley, particularly of the golden age of the Rhine in the 17th and 18th centuries. But over the years, it has become the "general" museum of Alsace, a bit similar to the Louvre in Paris with archeological collections from Gallo-Roman times but with elements continuing on to the 21st century. "If it's art, we'll find some place to put it." However, most of the collection since 1930 concentrates on the interaction between German and French modern art.
The museum boasts one absolute and total masterwork, which is what brings most people to visit: "le retable d'Issenheim" -- the Issenheim alterpiece painted by Matthias Grünewald between 1512 and 1516. One might think that it is traditional triptych with folding panels, but it has a lot more elements than one might imagine, and I got more of an impression of a super advent calendar with wings to fold in or out depending on the time of year, portraying the birth of Christ to his death. It is such an important work that it was taken to Munich after the Franco-Prussian war, where it was considered to represent the essential character of the German nation. It returned to Colmar in 1919. In 1939, it was hidden an a château near Limoges but after the "armistice" of 1940, it was returned to German annexed Alsace and hidden in the château of Haut-Koenigsbourg. The American army found it there in 1944, and in 1945 it was returned to the Unterlinden.
Anyway, the Unterlinden closed in 2012 for renovation and just reopened this year, which is what finally brought me to see it. 44 million euros were spent on the renovation, which is not at all finished yet, but people are flocking to see it. From what I saw, about 80% of the visitors are German or schweizerdeutsch (I am pretty good at recognising this language because it sounds a lot softer than German -- sort of like people speaking German with a French accent.). I came up on the museum from behind, which immediately indicates that there is still work to do.
The entrance is incredibly discreet with a tiny sign and just two small doors.