Belvedere Museum Vienna: Home of “The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt (and 400 Other Works)

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Continuing with my series of photographs (finally!) from the most epic European dad-daughter trip of (probably?) our lifetime –
29 days from December 2023 to January 2024 via planes, trains and automobiles.

Belvedere Museum Vienna (Österreichische Galerie Belvedere)

The Belvedere Museum Vienna is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Historic Centre of Vienna”. The palace complex, including the Upper and Lower Belvedere, is renowned for its Baroque architecture and its role as a museum housing a significant collection of Austrian art.

The Upper Belvedere houses the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere (the focus of this post), one of the world’s leading museums; while the Lower Belvedere served as the former residential palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736), a distinguished Field Marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th and 18th centuries.

For the Lower Belvedere, the prince chose Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt, whom he had met whilst engaged in a military campaign in northern Italy, as the chief architect. Construction quickly started in 1712. Italian painter Marcantonio Chiarini, French gardener Dominique Girard, and Austrian sculptor Giovanni Stanetti all played a role in the construction.

Ceiling painting of the Marble Hall in the Upper Belvedere, by Carlo Carlone

The construction of the Upper Belvedere began as early as 1717 and was quickly finished in 1723. Prolific Italian Baroque painter Francesco Solimena, Italian fresco painter Gaetano Fanti, and Italian painter/engraver Carlo Carlone all aided in its completion. Engineer Salomon Kleiner documented in precise detail the state of the Belvedere complex in a ten-part publication titled, “Wondrous war and victory encampment of the supreme hero of our age Eugene Francis Duke of Savoy and Piedmont”.

However, when Prince Eugene died in 1736, he did not leave a legally binding will. The daughter of his eldest brother Thomas, Princess Maria Anna Victoria of Savoy, was named the sole heir. Surprisingly, Victoria immediately made it clear that she was not interested in her fantastic inheritance(!) and aimed to auction off the palace complex as soon as possible. Which she then proceeded to do – his vast art collections (with an estimated 400 pictures), antique furniture, old masters, statues, even his wartime medals.

In 1738, already the object of scorn in Austria, Victoria married German officer Prince Joseph of Saxe-Hildburghausen (sixteen years younger than her 52 years). Years of lavish parties followed until the poorly-matched couple would divorce in 1744 after Saxe-Hildburghausen was said to have ingloriously ran away. Victoria would then leave Vienna and return to her home city of Turin, Italy. Eight years later, Maria Theresa, the daughter of Charles VI, was able to purchase the estate.

In 1776, Maria Theresa and her son, Emperor Joseph II decided to transfer the k.u.k. Gemäldegalerie (“Imperial Picture Gallery”) from the Imperial Stables – a part of the city’s Hofburg Imperial Palace – to the Upper Belvedere. The intention was to make the imperial collection accessible to the general public. The gallery opened five years later, making it one of the first public museums in the world.

The heart of the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere collection is formed by the 24 paintings of Gustav Klimt with his golden images “The Kiss” (above) and “Judith” (see gallery below). The permanent exhibition was completely redesigned at the beginning of 2023. It includes Austrian highlights from the Middle Ages and Baroque, while the icons of Vienna Modernism meet greats like Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and Auguste Rodin. Around 400 works recount 800 years of art history.