Munich Day 3
I was longing to visit the Alte Pinakotek ever since I saw its collection mentioned on reproductions of paintings I saw in high school. The austere Renaissance style of the building seemed appropriate to house its grand collection of “Old Masters.”
The succession of galleries shrinking to a vanishing point gave an impression of limitless depth.
This portrait greeted us as we got out of the elevator.
We were looking for its most famous treasure, the self portrait of Albrecht Durer which served as the museum’s logo.
The understatement in the caption, “touches most viewers,” gained meaning as I stared.
as it seemed to do for others in the room.
For some perhaps recalling Jesus, as suggested by the caption,
for others perhaps Jesus Christ Superstar.
Nearby hangs another familiar work, The Battle of Alexander and Darius at Issus by Albrecht Altdorfer
It was commissioned in 1528 by Duke Frederick William of Austria as part of a set of history paintings. Hours would not have sufficed to take in its thousands of characters and endless sky, water and landscapes.
The gallery also held Altdorfer’s “Susanna and the Elders,” hiding its primary subject–the salacious Biblical story of dirty old men spying on a young girl bathing
in a larger environment of greater interest.
Another northern European master, Roger Van Der Weyden, foregrounded the devotional narrative but placed it in a context of equal interest.
A century later Rembrandt employed a different kind of realism to play up the drama of horror and deliverance in the the book of Genesis’ story of the sacrifice of Isaac demanded by God of his father.
Satiated with masterworks, we returned to our hotel and collapsed. After a restorative nap, we checked out the elegant little French restaurant on the corner.
There we spent a long evening with a bottle of Wacha valley wine and an exceptional meal, served by a very friendly waiter.
