Das Kunstareal - The Art District The museum quarter in the city centre of Munich consists an unique accumulation of museums and institutions. It consists of the three "Pinakotheken" galleries (Old Pinakothek, New Pinakothek and Pinakothek of Modern Art), the Glyptothek, the State Antiquities Collection, the Lenbachhaus, the Museum Brandhorst and several galleries. Also the state collection of Egypt art ( it was moved to the Kunstareal in 2013). Alte Pinakothek - Old Pinakothek The Alte Pinakothek's rather monolithic structure contains a treasure trove of the works of European masters between the 14th and 18th centuries. The collection reflects the eclectic tastes of the Wittelsbachs over four centuries, and is sorted by schools over two sprawling floors. Major displays include Albrecht Dürer's Christ-like Self-Portrait, his The Four Apostles, Raphael's paintings The Canigiani Holy Family and Madonna Tempi as well as Peter Paul Rubens self-portrait Honeysuckle Bower and his two-storey-high Judgment Day. The gallery houses one of the world's most comprehensive Rubens collections. The Madonna of the Carnation is the only painting of Leonardo da Vinci in a German gallery. Neue Pinakothek - New Pinakothek The museum is closed at present for renovation The New Pinakothek is especially famous for its comprehensive collection of paintings of Impressionism from Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Edgar Degas, Vincent van Gogh and many others. Pinakothek der Moderne - Pinakothek of Modern Art The Pinakothek of Modern Art unifies the Bavarian State Collection of Modern and Contemporary Arts, the National Collection of Works on Paper and the Museum for Design and Applied Arts with the Munich Technical University's Museum of Architecture in one building and is deemed one of the most important and popular museums of modern art in Europe. It houses indeed the largest collection of industrial design. The Collection of Works on Paper ranges from masterpieces of Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci to Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Paul Klee and David Hockney. It is owned by the nearby Staatliche Graphische Sammlung München, a world-renowned collection of 400,000 prints, engravings and drawings dating back to the Renaissance. The Collection of Modern Art keeps a large collection of paintings of Pablo Picasso, Max Beckmann and of the painters of "Die Brücke". Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus - Municipal Galerie in the Lenbachhaus In the early twentieth century the "Blaue Reiter" (Blue Rider) group worked in Munich. This group was one of the most important groups of avant-garde artists of Germany and indeed of Europe. Members of this group: Wassily Kandinsky, Gabriele Münter, Franz Marc, August Macke, Alfred Kubin and some time also Paul Klee. The Lenbachhaus has the world's largest collection of paintings of this group and is therefore a museum of world significance. Museum Brandhorst The modern Museum Brandhorst houses a private collection of more than 700 works of modern and con-temporary art. About 100 paintings by Andy Warhol and 170 paintings by the American artist Cy Twombl. Glyptothek An important collection of Greek and Roman sculptures is held in the Glyptothek and the Staatliche Antikensammlung (State Antiquities Collection). King Ludwig I managed to acquire such famous pieces as the Medusa Rondanini, the Barberini Faun and the figures from the Temple of Aphaea on Aegina for the Glyptothek. Staatliche Antikensammlung - State Antiquities Collection The internationally renowned collection of antique pottery is outstanding. Das Staatliche Museum Ägyptischer Kunst - Egyptian Museum The Kunstareal was completed with the new building for the Egyptian Museum in 2013. This museum displays exhibits from all periods of Ancient Egypt's history but also reliefs from Assyria and a lion from the Ishtar Gate of Babylon. Nearby the Kunstareal are several natural scientific museums of the Bavarian state, like the Paleontological Museum the Geological Museum and the Museum Reich der Kristalle as the public part of the "Mineralogische Staatssammlung Munich" (Bavarian State Collection for Mineralogy). Text © Rolf Gross für "München Erleben"