The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna has a bit of everything. Or let me correct myself: the Kunsthistorisches Museum has A LOT of EVERYTHING. And that makes it the best museum in Vienna for us.
When you visit the Kunsthistorisches Museum, you can expect an artistic rendezvous with ancient Egyptian art and Greek and Roman antiquities. In the picture gallery, you can hang with the likes of Rubens, Bruegel, Dürer, Rembrandt, and Raphael, while the Kunstkammer displays an extraordinary array of mantelpieces and knick-knacks.
We spent a few incredible hours inside the Kunsthistorisches Museum last December, and we still have to wrap our heads around the astonishing collecting.
In this post, we’ll show you our favourite masterpieces we saw that wonderful December afternoon in Vienna’s Museum of Art History.
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Quick Guide to Visiting the Kunsthistorisches in Vienna
Opening hours:
Monday to Sunday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Thursday, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Tickets: Regular admissions 21 €, available online. Discounted for seniors, youths and students.
Free entrance with the Vienna Pass.
How much time: At least 3 hours
Photography: Allowed free of charge
Still planning your Vienna trip? We recommend staying at Hotel The Weekend
The Kunsthistorisches Museum in a Nutshell
The Kunsthistorisches Museum (the Museum of Art History or Museum of Fine Arts in English, or simply KHM) is the largest art museum in Austria and is among the world’s top museums.
Opened in 1891, the KHM in Maria-Theresien-Platz houses the formidable art collection of the Hapsburg Empire. Among its priceless collection, the KHM proudly houses the largest collection of Bruegel pieces, totalling 12.
The Egyptian-Oriental Collection, Antiquities Collection, and Kunstammer Vienna are on the ground floor, while the Picture Galleries are upstairs.
The Picture Galleries are divided into two wings, with paintings by Dutch, Flemish, and German artists in one wing and Italian, Spanish, and French artists in another.
In the Cupola Hall, the stunning museum cafe awaits in one of the most beautiful settings in Vienna. Here, you can take a break and indulge in true Viennese classics like strudel with an einspänner.
The KHM has a vast collection, and while some advise you to focus on one area you’re interested in, we say try your best to see everything. Let’s be honest: As a tourist, you don’t have the luxury of time (or money) to visit a museum more than once. So set aside a good few hours on your Vienna itinerary and explore the museum from bottom to top.
We headed straight up to the Picture Galleries, where the famous paintings of the Kunsthistorisches Museum hang. Then, we descended to the ancient art on the ground floor before ending at the Kunstkammer.
Our minds were completely blown when we walked out a few hours later.
The Grand Staircase
The KHM wows right from the start. After checking our coats and bags, we headed up the Grand Staircase to the Picture Galleries.
Halfway up the stairs, visitors are greeted by the remarkable statue Theseus Defeating the Centaur by Antonio Canova.
This striking white marble piece was commissioned by Napoleon and acquired by Emperor Franz I in 1822 for the Theseus Temple in the Volksgarten. It has been in the KHM since 1891.
Klimt’s Spandrel Paintings in the KHM
Only a few people know that some fantastic works by Vienna’s golden boy are hidden in plain sight inside the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
You’ll find the Klimt paintings almost concealed behind the black and white marble columns of the Grand Staircase. Even though you can only admire them from a distance, they are magnificent.
Gustav Klimt, his younger brother Ernst, and his friend Franz Matsch were commissioned in 1890 to portray the most important eras of European art in the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
Klimt, who was only 29 at the time, personified the arts in human form on the spandrels (that triangular area between a column and an arch).
His spandrel paintings depict Early Italian Painting, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, the Roman and Venetian Quattrocento, and the Cinquecento and Quattrocento in Florence.
The Picture Galleries
We spent most of our time in the Dutch, Flemish, and German picture galleries, where the KHM’s most famous masterpieces hang.
Between the halls and smaller cabinets, we saw some of the world’s most famous art. Fame aside, we loved how most of the work here, especially by the Dutch and Flemish Masters, was incredibly detailed, with so much going on in each scene.
Like a mini acid trip on canvas.
Peasant’s Dance (Breugel)
This painting immediately grabbed my attention from a childhood memory. I remember my mom used to buy these two-litre boxes of Drostdy Hoff semi-sweet wine when I was a child. Printed on the box was this painting, and I always thought: Wow, that’s classy.
Bruegel painted peasants having a good time at a church festival, and unlike his other paintings, he didn’t portray them humorously or condescendingly.
If I had a time machine and money, I’d go back and commission Mr. Bruegel for a family scene of us having a Sunday BBQ with Mom’s box of Drostdy Hoff semi-sweet.
Battle Between Carnival & Lent (Breugel)
In true Bruegel style, this painting is like a Where’s Wally book. There is just so much going on.
From a bird’s-eye view, Bruegel paints a small town in the Netherlands in the 15th century. There are over 200 figures on this canvas, and it looks a little bonkers. You’ll see Carnival portrayed as a fat butcher riding a barrel, brandishing a rotisserie with a pig’s head as a weapon. His opponent, Lent, is a skinny woman seated on a three-legged chair, armed with two herrings on a baker’s spatula.
And surrounding the two leading figures, the town square is pure havoc with cripples and peasants supporting their team with pretzels and waffles, and what have you.
Oh, how we miss peasant life in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Tower of Babel (Breugel)
Many artists have portrayed and copied The Tower of Babel, but Bruegel’s version is considered the most famous. Similar to his other paintings, it includes incredible details, especially in the Flemish-looking town beyond the tower.
In this painting, Bruegel draws (or paints, I suppose) a line between Rome, the perceived eternal city, and Babel, both of which eventually fell. For this reason, he painted the tower to resemble the Colosseum.
Looking closely, you can see that none of the tower’s levels are horizontal, foreshadowing Babel’s eventual demise.
Hunters in the Snow (Breugel)
Three hunters return home from an unsuccessful hunt. The men look miserable, and the dogs have their tails between their legs. Breugel encapsulates the misery of winter like a true master.
We loved this painting for its muted grey and blue colours and the immaculate details Breugel is famous for. From the hare’s footprints in the snow to the people playing ice hockey on the frozen ponds in the background, this is the most beautiful winter scene we’ve ever seen on canvas.
Interestingly, the jagged peaks in the background don’t exist in Belgium or the Netherlands.
Deer Hunt of Elector Frederick the Wise (Cranach)
This scene, dated 1529, depicts Prince Johann Friedrich from Saxony driving deer into a river, where they become easy prey for crossbowmen hiding in the bushes.
Not wanting to miss out on anything, court ladies watch the hunt from a boat on the river.
Despite its theme, I find this painting just gorgeous. Something about the colours, wavy texture of the grass, and details in the leaves made it stand out among the big names in the Picture Gallery.
Martyrdom of the Ten Thousand (Dürer)
A gruesome scene unfolds in this Dürer painting. In the foreground, men are crucified, decapitated and crushed with hammers. Others are marched up a cliff (Mount Ararat) from where they are pushed. From the clifftop, the baddies throw rocks down at any survivors.
The good guys (or should I say dead guys) are Roman soldiers who converted to Christianity, while the baddies dressed in Ottoman clothing are Shapur 1, the King of Persia, and his men. The massacre was ordered by Roman Emperor Hadrian.
Between all this gore, Dürer painted himself at the centre as a nonchalant observer. He is one of the figures dressed in black in the middle of the painting. Dürer is holding a stick with a flag-thingy bearing his signature. Next to him, also in black, stands his friend, the humanist Conrad Celtes.
Portrait of a Young Man / Avarice (Dürer)
This painting is a double whammy of a masterpiece, with a painting on both sides. On the one side, you can see a fine portrait in warm colours of a handsome young man, while on the back, an old woman with one tit hanging out clutches a purse bulging with coins.
The young man is believed to be a German merchant Dürer met in Venice.
On the reverse side, the old woman is an allegorical figure representing avarice (extreme greed for wealth or material gain). Dürer’s Avarice warns against greed, earthly fortunes, and the transcience of life. The title given by the Kunsthistorisches is Allegorical Female Figure.
It’s impossible to say whether Dürer intentionally painted this to form a diptych.
Persian Women(Van Veen)
This was definitely one of the funniest and most intriguing paintings we saw that day.
This Otto van Veen work (1597) depicts Persian Women lifting their skirts to shame their men who are fleeing from a battle.
The embarrassed men, not knowing where to look, had no choice but to gather their courage and return to the battlefield, where they defeated the enemy.
Four Seasons (Arcimboldo)
Initially a series of four, only two, Summer and Winter, survive, both of which are in the Kunsthistorisches in Vienna. Giuseppe Arcimboldo painted the four seasons as people, entirely composed of fruit, vegetables and plants.
Summer is portrayed as a woman in fruit in veg with, among other things, a peach, cucumber, cherries, wheat, and eggplant forming her face. Arcimboldo masterly signed this painting by weaving his name into the woman’s straw clothing.
Winter is depicted as a weathered old man with a tree trunk for a face, mushrooms as lips, and twigs and roots creating his beard.
There are two other Arcimboldo paintings in Cabinet 8, called Fire and Water, which are part of his Four Elements series. These Elements are intended to complement the Seasons, with Fire corresponding to Summer and Water corresponding to Winter.
The Fall of the Rebel Angels (Giordano)
War in Heaven is a monumental canvas depicting the battle between angels. Over 4 metres tall, it felt like I became part of the painting when I stood in front of it.
Archangel Michael leads the loyal angels while the rebel angels are thrown into hell. The terror on the faces of the fallen angels is vivid and real.
When standing in front of the painting, the viewer is at eye-level with the fallen angels and looks up at Archangel Michael. It almost feels like descending into hell with the screaming, distorted faces of the defeated angels.
David with the Head of Goliath (Caravaggio)
The colours and smooth texture of this Baroque painting by Caravaggio are just wow. An interesting fact about this painting is that the severed head of Goliath is actually Caravaggio’s self-portrait.
Greek & Roman Antiquities
The Antique Collection on the ground floor displays around 2,500 objects spanning almost three thousand years. Exploring the dimly lit halls is like going on a true treasure hunt.
Among the treasure trove of art to explore are Bronze Age ceramics from Cyprus, gold treasures, exquisite miniature bronzes, and Roman portraits and statues.
Those who are into Greco-Roman art or who have visited Ephesus in Türkiye will also want to visit the Ephesus Museum. The Ephesus Museum forms part of the Kunsthistorisches Museum but is housed in the Neue Burg and has its own entrance fee.
Bull Head Bowls
These golden bowls, which originate from Nagyszentmiklós in modern-day Romania, are absolutely magnificent!
They are a part of the largest known gold treasure from the Middle Ages. The three-legged bowls feature the head of a hybrid creature made up of a bull (horns, ears, and eyes) and a lion (mane and teeth).
Egyptian-Roman Mummy Portraits
In Room XIII, you can view a collection of Egyptian-Roman mummy portraits. These beautiful portraits on wood originate from the Fayum Oasis and were created after the Romans adopted the Egyptian practice of preserving the facial features of the deceased for the afterlife.
The Fayum portraits covered the faces of the mummies and were then wrapped with cloth or bands to keep them in place.
The mummy portraits bear a resemblance to the portraits of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
Roman Portrait Busts
In the same room as the mummy portraits stands a handsome collection of Roman marble busts.
Some are simply labelled as Son, Woman or Egyptian, while others bear their famous names: Augustus, Commodus, Traian, Septimus Severus and their ilk.
This is a perfect spot for amateur portrait artists wishing to practice with subjects who sit very still.
Ancient Greece
The most impressive piece in the Greek section for us was the handsome Kouros statue from Pyla in Cyprus.
Dating from 550 BC, this Iron Age statue in limestone features a handsome beard, suggesting Assyrian influence.
This is unique because Greek Kouroi are typically depicted as beardless, a symbol of youth and beauty. The one from Cyprus is also clothed, unlike the typical Greek examples.
Egyptian & Near Eastern Collection
One of the most important collections of Egyptian art in the world is on the ground floor of the Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna. It’s unlike anything I’ve seen—even in Egypt.
The collection is vast, with over 17,000 pieces from Egypt, Nubia, Mesopotamia, and the Arabian Peninsula. It is beautifully displayed, and it almost felt like we were in a tomb in the Valley of the Kings.
I never knew this until we got to the Egyptian Hall of the Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna, but Jin has a massive fetish for ancient Egypt. I could see her eyes get cloudy as she left his realm and started to devour the displays.
As I watched her, I silently promised myself I’d take her to Egypt, even if it meant returning to the world’s hassle capital. But that’s a story on its own.
Mummies
It would not be Ancient Egypt without mummies, now, would it?
Like almost everyone else, we want to see mummies in the Egyptian section of any museum. The Kunsthistorisches didn’t disappoint.
Besides the exquisite sarcophagi, we were intrigued by the animal mummies. There are quite a few mummified crocodiles wrapped in linen, as well as snakes, fish and turtles.
Sarcophagus of the Priest Pa-Nehem-Isis
With its shiny, oversized head, this mummy-shaped sarcophagus looks as if it was made and polished just yesterday. Over 2 metres tall and weighing 560 kg, it doesn’t beg for attention.
Engravings and pictures cover the entire sarcophagus except for the face, relaying the priest’s biography and texts for the afterlife.
Relief Fragment With Slaughter Scene
I was drawn to this limestone relief for its simplicity and clean lines. Standing in front of it, watching the scene of cows being slaughtered for sacrifice, I felt the intense urge to visit Sudan. I’m not even sure if it comes from Nubia, but those cows look damn fine, like the photos you see from Sudan.
Reserve Head
Lost your head? No probs. (if you’re an ancient Egyptian).
The purpose of the reserve or replacement heads remains uncertain. These heads typically depict individuals with clean-shaven heads, making their gender sometimes ambiguous.
Regardless of what they are, I found them super cool and contemporary, even though this example dates back to the 4th Dynasty of Cheops (2609-2584 BC).
Kunstkammer Wien
Initially, we dismissed the Kunstkammer as a jumble of mantlepieces and high-class junk rich grannies stuff their display cabinets with.
But man, were we wrong!
The Kunstkammer is essentially a museum within a museum, displaying the wonders and exotic collectables of the Habsburg Empire. Over two thousand rare and unusual pieces in gold, precious stones, ivory, rhino horn, ostrich eggs, and who knows what else are on display.
I was in awe, especially with the ivory collection. My thoughts rode a seesaw between OMG LOOK AT THAT and So…that’s what happened to vast elephant herds that once roamed Africa.
The Kunstkammer was the last section of the museum we visited, and we felt a little rushed as the museum was closing by then.
Saliera
A standard salt and pepper shaker won’t do if you have lots of money. Point in case: the uber-fantabulous Saliera (1540). It’s by far the most famous masterpiece in the Kunstkammer. Understandably so – it’s a splendid piece.
Crafted from gold, ivory, ebony, and enamel by the renowned Florentine artist Cellini, it is the only surviving gold work by the artist and the last remaining gold sculpture from the Renaissance.
This condiment holder depicts Land and Sea. Land is personified as the woman, Tellus, and Sea is the man, Neptune. The salt is placed in a ship next to Neptune, while the pepper is placed in a temple next to Tellus.
An interesting fact about the Saliera is that it was stolen in 2003 and recovered again in 2006.
Dragon-shaped Drinking Horn
This drinking horn (1560), made of tortoiseshell, silver, and gold, is a rare and exotic piece worthy of display in the Kunstkammer.
The satyr riding on the dragon’s back sports the coat of arms of Count Montfort-Tettnang. It was later acquired by Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol.
Allegory of the Elements Water and Air
This is one of the most beautiful objects of art I’ve ever laid my eyes on. It’s sublime.
Carved from a walrus tusk, shows a triton blowing his shell trumpet with two nude figures reaching up to the skies. It stands 49 cm tall and dates from 1688.
Aquamanile in the Form of a Griffin
This exquisite pouring vessel (1120) was used by a priest to wash his hands during mass. Its beak is the spout, while a hole to fill the jug is on the tip of its tail. The tail also doubles as a handle.
I deserve a master’s degree in Art History after this write-up. What do you say?
Anyhoo.
Enjoy your visit to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna
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