Vienna Museum of Fine Arts: Art Historian Private Tour of Must-see Masterpieces

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3 hours (approximately)
Offered in: German and 1 more

Dozens of the rooms of the sumptuous Vienna Art History Museum are filled with thousands of artworks, each is unique and interesting. But how can someone decide which objects are more important and why?

This Critical Art Tour is created for those who want to know what exactly makes renown masterpieces so special. Is it their outstanding craftsmanship and expression of artistic genius? Or possibly a coincidence and good marketing?

In this tour, we'll explore celebrated masterworks from different perspectives to find out why these are on the museum’s must-see list – and then how this list could look different.

You will learn:
- What made ‘Saliera’ by Benvenuto Cellini into an Austrian ‘Mona Lisa’ – was it artistic skills or its criminal past?
- Why do we believe Pieter Breugel’s ‘Tower of Babel’ to be truthful despite our knowledge about it being architecturally incorrect?
- What a Reserve Head and a Hippo from Ancient Egypt tell us about our ability to understand its culture?

What's Included

Professional Art Historian guide
Museum admission tickets

Meeting and pickup

Meeting point
Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien

The meeting point in front of the museum main entrance. There are three doors and the central one is closed. You guide will be waiting for you in front of it. The exact information with photos of the meeting point and your museum guide you will get with an extra file. Use the contact details on your confirmation/voucher if you have any question or have any difficulties to find the meeting point or your guide.

End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Itinerary

Duration: 3 hours (approximately)
  • 1
    Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna

    The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna is best described as a 'temple of art'. Even its architecture, designed in the best traditions of historicism, combines the details of temples from the three principal Western cultures. Here you will find all the gods and heroes of the Western European art Olympus: Arcimboldo, Brueghel, Velasquez, Holbein, Dürer, Giorgione, Cranach, Raphael, Rembrandt, Rubens, Titian. Like any Western museum that claims to be universal, the Kunsthistorisches Museum also has collections of Egyptian, Greek and Roman art. A big part of the museum is devoted to the unique cabinets of curiosities. The museum's curators have drawn up an informative list for visitors, including 700 masterpieces for local art lovers, 100 for regular visitors and 35 "must-sees" for first-time visitors. On this art tour, we follow the curators' shortlist and take a close look at world-renowned masterpieces from a different perspective to understand what makes each work of art so special.

    2 hours 59 minutes • Admission ticket not included
  • 2
    Maria Theresien Square

    The place to meet for your museum tour

    1 minute • Admission ticket free

Additional info

  • Public transportation options are available nearby
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • Minimum age recomended is 14 years
Supplied by Art with me! — Art experience for the intellectually curious

Tags

Half-day Tours
Private Sightseeing Tours
Architecture Tours
Cultural Tours
Art Tours
Walking Tours
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Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

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