Old Museum

3 years ago

0 ratings

Culture-Museum

I really liked the Old Museum and stayed there for more than 2 hours since I found many of its pieces to be very captivating, even if it isn't the most popular attraction on the Museum Island. The Old Museum was built between the years 1823 and 1830 following the plans of Karl Friedrich Schinkel. It is one of the most significant classical buildings, not only in Germany but also globally. Schinkel carried out Humboldt's master idea of opening a museum as a teaching center for the public with a clearly structured exterior form and a precise interior structure based on Greek antiquity. The architectural details that have been conserved until these days are the monumental order of the 18 grooved ionic columns, the wide portico, the rotunda, and the staircase. The building burned down between 1943 and 1945 and was severely damaged because of the war. Its reconstruction lasted until 1966. Many of the Old Museum pieces were transferred to the New Museum in 2009. In consequence, some critics consider that the museum lost some relevance. Most of the Berlin Old Museum artworks were produced in Ancient Greece, exhibiting stone sculptures, bronze and clay figures, vases or gold, and silver jewelry. Roman art also has its site in the Old Museum, with portraits of Julius Caesar and tombs and paintings. Even though it was initially designed to display Berlin art collections, the Old Museum houses since 1904 the collection of antiquities with a permanent exhibition of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art and culture. Photo credit: Couleur on pixabay.com