Today was the highlight of our trips to museums in Vienna. As I said yesterday Ton is a great fan of Klimt and “The Kiss” is probably his most painting. We were on our way just after rush hour to check out the Belvedere Museum.
The Belvedere Palace was built in the early 1700’s by Prince Eugene of Savoy. Prince Eugene is considered to be the greatest Austrian General but the catch is he was French. He was unhappy with his lot in France and immigrated here where he ended up in command of the Hapsburg Army and was instrumental in securing the empire from the Ottomans. For that he was rewarded with the funds to build the Belvedere Palace on what was then the outskirts of the city.
We walked the grounds for a while as we had to wait for 45 minutes for our entrance time. The day was beautiful and the grounds were very stylized and pretty to look at for a few minutes, but didn’t entice us to wander.
As soon as we entered the museum Ton wanted to see the Kiss so we made a bee line for it. The space it occupied was crowded but with patience you could get a good look at it We spent 10 minutes taking in the painting before moving on to the rest of the exhibit.
Klimt did not actually name it the Kiss. He had given it another name, but the museum renamed it after they came into possesion of it and the name has stuck.
The Belvedere had an extensive collection of art by Klimt, and between the Leopold yesterday and today I have gained an appreciation for him as an artist. He is quite versatile and like many great painters his genius is evident in all the styles of painting he does.
He lived for 55 years and fortunately his genius was recognized early in his career. From this trip I think I will always associate Vienna with Gustav Klimt.
The museum had a large collection of Austrian art spanning multiple eras and we spent the next 90 minutes wandering thru the different room. Part of the interest of the museum though was also taking in the palatial rooms that the art is presented in.
The collection contained everything from cubist art of the mid-20th century to church art from the 12th century.
As someone with no talent I was awed by the amount of talent on display at the Belvedere. Because of the way we structured our stay in Vienna there are two things I will remember about the city. The museums, and the coffee shops.
After the Belvedere we headed over to try one last coffee shop before our departure. Ton picked a good one the Demel. This one was in the old city and close to one of the main squares so it was much busier (and more expensive) than the others we had tried. The shop was originally opened in the 1780’s and I enjoyed my pancakes which were close to a bread pudding. Ton had a pastry that she really enjoyed.
After our lunch Ton said she wouldn’t be able to eat any more whipped cream for a while. Every pastry and often coffee comes with a big dollop of whipped cream on the side.
We tried to walk off some of our desert by strolling thru the center of the city for a while. It did help and we enjoyed just taking in the sites and looking at the crowds of people also taking in the sites. It was a good way to finish up our Vienna experience.
Vienna is an amazing city that offers so much that it kind of overwhelmed me. Five days is not enough time to even think you have seen what it offers. I think by narrowing our visit down to art and coffee we helped take one small bite out of the giant apple that Vienna is. Next time we can tackle one of the other things that Vienna excels at such as music, dance, or architecture.
