Exactly 200 years ago, the foundation stone for the Alte Pinakothek was laid – yet its history begins much earlier: the Alte Pinakothek preserves the legacy of nearly 500 years of art collecting activity by the House of Wittelsbach. The origins of the collection of paintings can be traced back to the history cycle commissioned by Duke Wilhelm IV and his wife Maria Jacobaea of Baden in 1528 for their Munich residence. Albrecht Altdorfer’s Battle of Alexander, created in this context, remains one of the highlights of the collection to this day. 
 

The vast collection of artworks—which began as a ducal, then became an electoral, and finally a royal treasure—owes its existence to the passion for collecting of individual members of the Wittelsbach family. For example, Duke Albrecht V (son of Wilhelm IV and Maria Jacobaea) commissioned the first chamber of curiosities in Munich between 1563 and 1567. Elector Max Emanuel created the Grande Galerie in the New Palace at Schleißheim, a 61-metre-long state room designed to display the highlights of his collecting activities. Under Elector Karl Theodor, the Hofgartengalerie at the Residenz was established from 1777 onwards to present the collection in a concentrated manner and make it accessible to the public. Around 700 paintings were exhibited there across seven rooms! 

As various branches of the House of Wittelsbach were left without direct heirs during the 18th century, the title of Elector ultimately passed to the Dukes of Zweibrücken, who also inherited the extensive art collection of the various family branches. These treasures were brought together in Munich, the residence city: by 1799, the collection included 600 paintings from the Electoral Palace in Mannheim and around 2,000 works from the Zweibrücken Gallery; from 1806 onwards, the Düsseldorf collection of Johann Wilhelm von der Pfalz-Neuburg, comprising almost 350 works, was added. Following the secularisation, a further 1,500 paintings from expropriated churches and monasteries were added to the collection. A new building was urgently needed to house the ever-expanding collection.

The large number of new paintings needed to be accommodated. In 1805, Johann Christoph von Mannlich, director of the central gallery of the Wittelsbach art collection, developed innovative ideas for a new building at the residence. Instead of traditional exhibition halls, he proposed honeycomb-like gallery spaces with sloping walls to prevent reflections from the windows on the paintings – an approach that was ahead of its time but was never implemented. 

It was not until 12 June 1823 that King Maximilian I officially approved the plans for the new building, stating: “A new gallery is to be built.” Nevertheless, the project remained at the planning stage for the time being. It was not until the reign of King Ludwig I that the project began to take shape. The art-loving monarch drew inspiration from his travels and pursued the goal of transforming Munich into a cultural centre of Europe. He commissioned Leo von Klenze as architect, who created a highly innovative building.

Since his appointment to Munich in 1816 – initially fot the construction of the Glyptothek – the architect Leo von Klenze worked on the designs for the Pinakothek. The location of the building was changed several times: initially, it was planned for Odeonsplatz. Ultimately, however, the area between Theresienstrasse, Arcisstrasse, Gabelsbergerstrasse and Barerstrasse was chosen instead. At the time of construction, this area was still outside the city and was surrounded by greenery, offering protection from the risk of fire.

Contemporaries described the architecture of the Pinakothek – for example in the 1834 travel guide "Eight Days in Munich" – as “one of the most imposing and magnificent buildings to have been erected in recent times”. The building set new standards: for the first time, a museum building was designed with halls illuminated by skylights. Klenze designed glass roof structures, through which daylight flooded into the spacious halls. Peter Paul Rubens’ “The Great Last Judgement”, measuring over six metres in height, served as the benchmark for the proportions of the halls. It still hangs unchanged in the Rubens Hall today, as part of one of the world’s largest collections of Rubens’ works. Originally, the entrance to the Pinakothek was on the east side – the entrance there is still accentuated today by two lion sculptures.

The date of the laying of the foundation stone was chosen in honour of the highly revered painter Raphael (Raffaello Santi), who was born on this day. In his opening speech, Ludwig Schorn, Professor of Art History in Munich, expressed the aspiration that the museum should inspire “those who enter here seeking enjoyment and striving for knowledge”, sharpen their eye for beauty and encourage them to create works of their own. 
With this historic moment of the laying of the foundation stone, King Ludwig I’s vision – to develop Munich into a centre of art and culture of international standing – took concrete form: “I want to make Munich a city that will bring such honour to Germany that no one will know Germany unless they have seen Munich.”

Following the ceremonial laying of the foundation stone in 1826, it took ten years before the Pinakothek opened on 16 October 1836. The stuccoed ceilings were lavishly decorated. The loggia, which no longer exists today, was adorned with frescoes dedicated to individual artists or artistic schools. In the centre of the gallery was the loggia dedicated to Raphael, which once again accorded the painter a special status. A total of 1,269 paintings were displayed – today, around 800 works are on show. The original plan was to also exhibit contemporary art of the time, which Ludwig I collected avidly. However, a separate building was dedicated to this: in 1846, the foundation stone for the Neue Pinakothek was laid – since then, the ‘Alte’ (old) Pinakothek, previously known simply as the Pinakothek, has borne this additional name.

The bombing raids during the Second World War caused extensive damage to the building; parts of the original architecture were lost. During the reconstruction, the architect Hans Döllgast adopted an approach characterised by a respectful treatment of the historic substance. Instead of a complete reconstruction of the historic appearance, lost parts of the building were rebuilt in simplified forms; bricks of a different colour, salvaged from the ruins of the barracks on Türkenstraße next door, made the war damage in the brickwork of the south and north façades visible. The layout of the interior was altered by the installation of the monumental staircase on the south side. The result is a building that visibly links the past and the present. Since 1957, the Alte Pinakothek has once again been open to the public in this form. It is regarded as an impressive architectural testament to the reconstruction efforts in the still young Federal Republic of Germany.

The 200th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone is not only an occasion to look back, but also to celebrate the cultural significance of this building. To this day, the Alte Pinakothek embodies the fusion of architectural innovation and artistic heritage – and remains a vibrant place where people can engage with art.