Vienna’s Art History

Austria’s Hapsburg dynasty were known for being creators, monarchs and, most of all, collectors. This reputation for gathering is well deserved, and one of the many living tributes to its veracity is the impressive, and somewhat comprehensive, Kunsthistoriches museum.

Established from the Hapsburg’s collection, the museum of the history of art houses centuries of buildup of fine art brought to Vienna from around the world. The entire first floor is occupied by the picture gallery which is focused on the work of the old masters from the 15th to 18th centuries. There are a number of Rembrandts, all of them portraits, and many pieces that have never been seen outside of the museum. The ground floor houses collections of art and antiquities from ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt and the near east.

Also on display are a singularly Austrian curiosity: automata. The same interest in what lies below-the-surface that brought us modern psychology spawned the worlds first robots. They could not move and function like modern robotics, but they were created to convincingly mimic the motions of living creatures. One of the most famous and beautiful is a metal swan upon a metal river which stretches its neck, dips its bill, snatches up and eats a little metal fish–which it summarily excretes.