Best of Museum
ILLUMINATING: In the exhibition LIGHT SOUND SENSES at the Heidi Horten Collection, art can be experienced with all the senses.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s Summer was created in 1563 and is part of a series of seasonal
paintings that made the Italian painter world-famous.
KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM
Of Old Masters and a Sensational New Discovery: In 2025, the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna will present two extraordinary special exhibitions.
Bacchanal by Michaelina Wautier dates from 1659 and depicts not only the drunken
god of wine but also a self-portrait of the artist with a bare chest and a staff in hand.
Vienna, October 17, 1891: In the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph, the Kunsthistorisches Museum opened in Austria’s capital. Today, the building on Burgring is regarded as one of the world’s largest painting galleries and one of the city’s main attractions, attracting art and culture enthusiasts from around the world as well as locals. Program Highlights for 2025: One highlight is the exhibition Arcimboldo – Bassano – Bruegel. The Signs of Nature, on view from March 11 to June 29. It features around 100 exhibits exploring the relationship between humans and nature during the Renaissance. At the heart of the exhibition are Leandro Bassano’s iconic monthly paintings. The exhibition also includes works by Old Masters such as Giuseppe Arcimboldo and Pieter Bruegel, as well as important sculptures, tapestries, clocks, globes, calendars, and books of hours. From September 30, 2025, to January 25, 2026, the KHM will focus on the work of Baroque painter Michaelina Wautier, one of the greatest art historical discoveries of recent decades. In a time when female artists primarily created still lifes or genre paintings, the Dutch artist succeeded with ambitious, self-confident historical paintings marked by their originality, refined humor, and remarkable courage. The exhibition showcases Wautier’s outstanding craftsmanship and artistry alongside contemporaries such as Rubens and van Dyck – a fascinating and sensual experience!
Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien
Maria-Theresien-Platz, 1010 Vienna
tel.: +43 (0)1 525 24-0, khm.at,
Tue –Sun 10.00 a.m.–6.00 p.m., Thu 10.00 a.m. – 9.00 p.m., June/July/August open daily
HEIDI HORTEN COLLECTION
With an exceptionally curated permanent exhibition and art that you can see, smell, and hear, the Heidi Horten Collection, which opened in the summer of 2022, is creating a sensation.
Olafur Eliasson invites viewers to shape art
through light and movement (up).
A rounded experience: a light piece by
Swiss artist John M. Armleder (down).
What do Paul Klee’s Siblings, Gustav Klimt’s Church in Unterach on Lake Attersee, and Emil Nolde’s Anna Wied’s Garden have in common? At first glance, perhaps only that they are all significant works of art! But beyond that, these paintings were also voted
among the top 10 favorite works by visitors to the Heidi Horten Collection through the #ARTfluence project – and have thus been included in the ongoing Klimt Warhol exhibition, which started in September. “With the active involvement of our visitors through #ARTfluence, this show is truly unique. It not only highlights the diversity of art but also reflects the shared interests and preferences of our audience,” says Agnes Husslein-Arco, Director of the Heidi Horten Collection.
Under the title Klimt Warhol, various artistic movements and positions from the 20th and 21st centuries come together in the former archducal chancery building near the Opera – from Vienna around 1900, through Expressionism and Surrealism, to
postwar abstraction and American Pop Art. Visitors can look forward to an eclectic mix of masterpieces – from Klimt to Warhol.
Additionally, until March 23, 2025, the exhibition Light Sound Senses is on display at the Heidi Horten Collection. This exhibition explores the senses in the context of art and features 32 works that focus on light, sound, and scent. Iconic exhibits include Bernhard Leitner’s sound sculpture Serpentinata, Ernesto Neto’s A Candle to Earth, which smells of clove powder, and Olafur Eliasson’s Your Uncertain Shadow, an installation of colored halogen lamps that invites visitors to engage with art through movement
and their own shadow.
Forever a crowd favorite: Gustav Klimt’s Church in Unterach on Lake
Attersee (far left in the photo).
Heidi Horten Collection
Hanuschgasse 3, 1010 Vienna
tel.: +43 (0)1 512 50 20, hortencollection.com
Open daily except Tuesday from 11.00 a.m. – 7.00 p.m., Thursday from 11.00 a.m. –9.00 p.m
