"A Masterpiece and Its (Almost) Forgotten Collector" in the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna

2023-06-22 13:10:05

From June 23, at the center of point of view #27: the so-called Benda Madonna and the legacy of Gustav von Bendas

Vienna (OTS) – The Kunsthistorisches Museum commemorates the June 23 to November 12, 2023 with the Matter of opinion #27 “A masterpiece and its (almost) forgotten collector” to one of his most important patrons – Gustav von Benda (1846 – 1932). The museum not only owes a lot to the Habsburgs: especially in the early 20th century, bourgeois collectors also ensured that the holdings grew. Gustav von Benda donated his rich collection of sculptures, paintings and other works to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in 1932. Initially set up in one place in the Neue Burg, Benda’s art treasures were distributed to the individual departments of the house as early as 1939 against his will. The fact that Benda had belonged to the Jewish community up until 1895 certainly contributed to this decision.

Supplemented by historical photographs and other works, the focus of Opinion #27 is a masterful painting of the Virgin Mary, which belongs to Benda’s legacy of 1932. Named after this image, its creator is known to experts as the “Master of the Benda Madonna”. This anonymous artist is one of the most fascinating painters who worked in the immediate vicinity of Martin Schongauer on the Upper Rhine at the end of the 15th century. After the recent extensive restoration Maria with childthe so-called Benda Madonna, can now be admired in Hall XI of the Picture Gallery for a few months.

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