The Albertina is home to an outstanding collection of drawings.
Built on a bastion of the city walls, the Albertina is located at the far end of the Hofburg, the imperial palace. Because of its particular elevated position and the prestige of the graphic art collections housed there, it is undoubtedly one of the most distinctive "monuments" of the city’s culture and art.
The palace was built in the mid-eighteenth century, remodeled in the Empire style in the early nineteenth century, and underwent more recent modifications by Hans Hollein, who added a new canopy at the entrance, effectively contrasting with the severe bronze equestrian statue of the founder, the Archduke Albert.
The Albertina is a cultural institution famous for its incomparable collection of drawings, watercolors and prints, with masterpieces ranging from the Italian and German Renaissance to the Viennese Secession.
These fragile works on paper are shown on a rotating basis in the form of temporary exhibitions, organized in collaboration with the world's leading museums.
However, some celebrated treasures, such as Dürer's exciting watercolors devoted to nature, drawings by Raphael and Michelangelo, pastel portraits by Rubens, and sketches by Klimt, are always visible, with appropriate care taken to regulate the light and humidity.
The main exhibition spaces are located on the noble floor, in rooms that maintain a sumptuous neoclassical appearance dating back to 1822: the main room is the Hall of the Muses, thus named for the statues of Apollo and the nine muses.
Other cultural institutions are also housed inside the Albertina building: scholars can consult archives devoted to architecture and photography, while the Filmmuseum offers screenings of art films. On the third floor is a collection of paintings and graphics from Impressionism to Pop Art, with works by such masters as Monet, Degas, Cézanne, Kandinsky, Chagall, Magritte and Picasso.
Let me leave you with an interesting fact: Kept inside the museum is a watercolor of extraordinary freshness and exceptional technical skill, which has become the symbol of the Albertina: Young Hare, by Dürer. If you look closely at the eye of the frightened creature, you can even see the reflection of a window.
