Elegant portraits, richly allusive history paintings, poetic landscapes: the Alte Pinakothek is home to a diverse collection of French paintings. Assembled through the collecting activities of the House of Wittelsbach, it is unparalleled among German museums in both its scope and the breadth of its representation of French art.
Paintings by Claude Lorrain found their way to Bavaria as early as the 17th century. French portraitists were engaged by the Munich court. In 1698, Max Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, acquired ‘Middas and Bacchus’, an especially impressive example of the art of Nicolas Poussin. Around 1800, a slew of other major French works, among them François Lemoyne’s ‘The Hunting Party’, entered the Munich collections after a dynastic succession that led to the unification of the Wittelsbach galleries in Munich, Mannheim, Düsseldorf, and Zweibrücken.
Now, for the first time in its history, the Alte Pinakothek is dedicating a major exhibition to this unique collection, in a show enriched by select loans from institutions in Germany and abroad. The exhibition brings together works by around fifty artists and traces the history of a collection that reflects several centuries of lively political, cultural, and artistic liaisons between Bavaria and France.
Liaisons françaises
Liaisons françaises
Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen – Alte Pinakothek Munich
Photo: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Sibylle Forster
Special Exhibition
Liaisons françaises
French Art in Bavaria from Claude Lorrain to François Boucher
Alte Pinakothek
26.11.2026 — 04.04.2027
Ground Floor West
The exhibition is supported by
Media partner
ADMISSION
Ticket sprecial exhibition
Tuesday to Sunday (closed on Mondays): Admission to the Permanent Collection is included.
12
€
reduced 8 €
Admission on Sunday
Admission to the Permanent Collection is included.
4
€
reduced 3 €
Information on the combined ticket of all museums (12-euro-ticket)
During the run of the special exhibition ‘Liaisons françaises’, the combined ticket is not valid at the Alte Pinakothek.
GROUP VISITS & EXCLUSIVE GUIDED TOURS
You are welcome to visit the exhibition with your group (max. 20 people plus guide) by prior arrangement or to book an exclusive guided tour. Please enquire about possible times at buchung@pinakothek.de.
Further information on group visits and exclusive guided tours can be found here.
EXAMPLES OF PAINTINGS AND THEMES
Elisabeth Renata of Lorraine
What at first glance looks like a typical early Baroque portrait of a noblewoman in fact bears eloquent witness to the dynastic ties across the borders of Europe. This enchanting portrait shows Elisabeth Renata of Lorraine, the bride from Nancy, sumptuously attired in the style of the French court. Her father, the Duke of Lorraine, had presented the painting to the family of the groom, the future Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria. One interesting detail worth pointing out: the young woman is holding a folding fan, a luxurious and extravagant accessory at the time, which had been imported from Asia..
Claude Lorrain
Masterpieces by Claude Lorrain reached Bavaria at an early date: Franz von Mayer, privy counsellor in the service of the Bavarian court and a collector in his own right, commissioned this landscape from the famous French artist directly, sometime before 1674 in Rome. The painting later entered the elector’s collection.
Henriette Adelaide of Savoy
The Bavarian Electress Henriette Adelaide of Savoy brought not only a touch of Italian flair to Bavaria but also, indirectly, some of the splendour of the French court by attracting French painters to Munich! Because Paul Mignard was her favourite portraitist, the Alte Pinakothek holds several works by the artist.
Nicolas Poussin
Nicolas Poussin was one of the most sought-after painters of his time. It is thus hardly surprising that the House of Wittelsbach was keen to own a major work by the artist. This sensuous treatment of a Greek mythological subject enchanted the guests attending the 1722 wedding at Nymphenburg Palace of Karl Albrecht, then Electoral Prince of Bavaria.
Madame de Pompadour
A true liaison française: both King Louis XV and his official mistress, the beautiful and intelligent Madame de Pompadour, were friends with Christian IV, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken, the uncle of the first Bavarian king, Max I Joseph. Christian IV was an avid collector and loved French art, so naturally he was also the proud owner of a portrait of Madame de Pompadour, whose whereabouts are unfortunately currently unknown. The lost portrait has, however, found a distinguished ‘understudy’ in Boucher’s celebrated portrait of Madame de Pompadour from 1756. On display at the Alte Pinakothek since 1972 as a long-term loan from the HypoVereinsbank – member of UniCredit – Boucher’s painting also forms a major highlight of today’s exhibition.