Art Museums

This one is smack-dab in the middle of Florence and I'll bet not too many people go to it. It's the Galleria dell'Arte Moderna in the Pitti Palace. It's mostly art from Tuscan artists and not at all what one thinks of as "modern" art. Very beautiful, representational paintings. I was very much surprised and plan to go back to it.

Jacquemart Andre in Paris - beautiful home and exceptional collection

The Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle.

The Thiel Gallery in Stockholm - it left me speechless - http://www.thielska-galleriet.se/en/

Kunst Haus Wein in Vienna, featuring colorful works and architecture by Hundertwasser (not his original name), plus rotating special exhibits. Rick gives it one star (on a scale of 0-3), and it may not really qualify as an "outstanding collection," but I've enjoyed it on 3 different visits.

The Courtauld Gallery in the beautiful Somerset House in London. It's like walking through an art history textbook chronologically with one powerhouse painting after another in a beautiful home.

The Lenbachhaus in Munich. Another historic home with the best collection of paintings from the Blaue Reiter School.

The Museu Gulbenkian in Lisbon.

The Marmottan in Paris for the lower level area filled with Monets. I enjoyed the upper floors as well but loved the Monets.

The Salisbury Museum in Salisbury UK. It has a nice permanent collection of archeology stuff from Stonehenge but I went last Fall particularly for a Turner's Wessex exhibit that was absolutely wonderful. It's worth checking to see if the smaller museums have a special exhibition that may elevate their usual collection.

The Holbourne Museum in Bath UK. It also has a nice varied permanent collection but again, I went specifically last year to see a Canaletto exhibition that was fantastic.

I also visited the Guimet in Paris a couple of years ago with a friend and found it very interesting.

edited to add a PS - I also agree with Mona and the Courtauld!

Lane, this is such a nice idea for a thread!

The Wallace Collection in London. I also liked the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England, and the Mauritshuis in The Hague, Netherlands.

I was watching a Van Gogh documentary and it looks like the Kröller-Müller Museum in the Netherlands is well worth a visit.

DK, I was almost going to mention the Mauritshuis, but I worried that, because it has several world-famous paintings, it may be too much of a "destination" museum. Also, because I knew what I was going there to see, I wasn't surprised by how wonderful the collection there is. But I guess since I started the thread, I can make the rules, so YES! I loved the Mauritshuis.

Wallace Collection and Tate Britain in London, Marmottan in Paris, Lobkowicz in Prague.

I second the Courtauld Gallery in London, and also the Gulbenkian in Lisbon. The art museum at Monsserrat near Barcelona is also a gem. The Thiessen in Madrid, very near the Prado, is great. Unterlinden Museum, while not a pure art museum, is spectacular. Extending beyond art museums (but maybe with some element of art/decorative arts): the German cultural museum in Nuremburg, the National Archeology museum in Dublin, and the Scottish National Museum in Edinburgh are fantastic.

The Pushkin in Moscow is a jaw dropper. The building with 19+20th century works has room after room of absolute masterpieces. Standouts are the galleries with works by Cezanne, Gauguin and Matisse. When I visited in 2012, we virtually had each room to ourselves, with the 'babooshka' (old lady) attendants variously reading, knitting or doing crosswords.

I also loved the Kumu in Tallinn, wonderful Estonian painters to discover there.

I really loved the Margit Kovacs museum in Szentendre, Hungary, so much so that I went again this past trip. Small but full of her wonderful clay sculptures, murals and tile panels, she was Hungary's first important female artist, active from the 1930s-70s. Armed with a list I found several more of her works on buildings in Budapest.

I don't know if the Marmottan in Paris is lesser-known (not here, of course, but the average marginally interested in art people I told about my trip had never heard of it), but it was a very satisfying museum experience for me--the walk through the lovely park to get there, the beautiful and largely intact home and the Impressionist works on several levels.

Since there are myriad forms of art , here are two more that are devoted to the decorative arts - MAK , in Vienna , and Les Gobelins , in Paris - http://www.mak.at/en/mak_now and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gobelins_Manufactory

I loved the Six Collection in Amsterdam. It's in a private house on a canal. The Six family owns the house and occupies the top two floors; the lower floors are open to the public (with prior appointments). Their claim to art fame is that they own the portrait of Jan Six, their ancestor, painted by Rembrandt. You have to put in a request on the website to visit the house and print out the confirmation email to bring with you. They take it when you arrive. They give tours of the collection to small groups; there were 8 people in my group. The house is full of beautiful furniture, decorative arts, and family portraits painted through the centuries. I had never been in a house in Amsterdam and this was a stunning introduction!

I really like Hundertwasser, so although it's not a museum, the Uelzen Bahnhof (Germany) is Hundertwasser inside and out!

In Berlin, the Museum Berggruen was one of our favorites. Heinz Berggruen was an art dealer; and, I believe, the works all belonged to him. The museum's subtitle is "Picasso and His Time.". There's a wealth of works by Pablo, as well as many by Paul Klee . Giacometti, Braque, Matisse, and Cezanne are also represented. Very nearby is the Brohan Museum, a collection of some very fine art nouveau and art deco pieces. These museums are located just outside the gates of the Charlottenberg palace.

Prague - Mucha Museum and Slav Epic
Nice - Chagall Museum

Laura jogged my memory - In addition to the Slav Epic , the collection here consumed a whole day for us . It is filled with the work of artists ( Frantizek Kupka is one example ) whose work never makes it to the West . http://www.ngprague.cz/en/objekt-detail/veletrzni-palace/

Museum Mayer van den Bergh in Antwerp. Not too big and therefore easy to oversee high quality collection and not too many visitors, so there is the quiet atmosphere to enjoy every piece on display.

I enjoyed the Ca' Pesaro modern art museum in Venice. Part of the enjoyment was from the contrast between this Baroque palazzo on the Grand Canal and its contents.

I've most enjoyed the museums that had local artists unknown outside their country. Some of the ones that come to mind immediately:

The Russia Museum in St. Petersburg. Sure the Hermitage is great, but it's mostly art by people whose work you can see elsewhere. The Russia Museum has stunning stuff you won't see anywhere else. Don't miss The Wave by Aivazovsky (his painting The Ninth Wave is more famous, but I thought The Wave was even more stunning).

The Museo Serralves in Porto - beautiful setting and grounds, and in the nice part of town, not the run-down old center.

The Museum Soares dos Reis in Porto has amazing sculpture by the titular artist. If you like Bernini, you'll love his stuff.

The Veletržní Palace in Prague (thanks everyone for the reminders above!). Before the Slav Epic was moved there, the famous thing about the museum was the French art collection. I enjoyed the Czech artists even more, and the cubist furniture is something you won't see elsewhere. I actually went twice to this place, as it's huge - and that was before the Slav Epic was there, so now I'd need even more time!

The Museo Sorolla in Madrid is the artist's former house. It's got an Andalusian-style patio outside and lots of beautiful art inside. I went on the free day and it wasn't too crowded to enjoy, so I'll bet if you go any other time, you'll have it to yourself.

The Brera in Milan. While it's a famous museum for those going to Milan, so many tourists skip Milan that it doesn't get nearly the crowds it would get if art of this quality were in Rome or Florence.

Ditto exactly what Harold wrote about the Russian Museum vs. the Hermitage.

I forget the name, but I like the municipal art gallery in Gent over just about anything in Brugge. There's nothing spectacular here, just a decent overview of western art, and not overwhelming in size.

Add Hamburg's Kunsthalle if you like the works of Caspar David Friedreich.

My two favorites...
The Alte Pinakothek in Munich. They specialize in pivotal pieces of art that changed the medium for their time...a very comprehensive collection and easily done in a morning. Stunning works.
The Kunsthistoriches in Vienna. The lower floors are their collections of antiquities and items from the Hapsburgs. The upper floors is the perfect collection of old masters...the ceiling of the main staircase is a masterpiece in itself. The display of this museum is unique and very well done.

Steven mentions the Slave epic, don't know how long it is going to be in Prague but it really is worth going to see ,quite a stunning exhibition and if you are in Prague I would say it is a must see.
Been twice now and might go again when I am back in the city in August.

I love this topic! Art is a passion and one reason I love going to Europe is for great art.

@Harold, thanks for the mention of the Brera Gallery in Milan, I am going in Oct in advance of a RS 17 day tour of Italy. I plan to see the Last Supper, too, and will add this to my list of things to do there.

The Hermitage Museum in Amsterdam is filled with art loaned by the St. Petersburg museum. I have only read about it but when I visit Amsterdam, I will definitely go there.

So glad that someone mentioned 2 museums I loved:
Wallace Collection in London and
Fitzwilliam in Cambridge

And others:

Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna - the building itself is a stunning work of art, and interestingly, the royal family built it to house the art they had collected over 600 years, many museums in Europe are former palaces, for example, the Louvre in Paris.

Mucha museum in Prague
Lobkowicz Palace in Prague

I can't wait to go to Italy! So much art!

Thanks for this topic, Lane.

Just realized that I did not mention the Albertina Museum in Vienna, a small museum with wonderful Impressionist paintings by artists like Monet and Renoir. Not as crowded either but a delight.