Sophisticated collector members of ARTKABINETT always like a bit of history when viewing independent collections. Today we present one of the wold's finest art collections housed since 1805 in The Albertina, a grand Viennese palace in the Neoclassical style -- a wonderful destination after a trip to the Basel art fairs. The palace takes its name from the collection’s founder, Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen (1738-1822), a son-in-law of Austrian Empress Maria Theresa (1717-80).
It was built in 1744 for Count Emanuel Teles Silva-Tarouca (1696-1771).In 1794, Duke Albert received the palace as a gift from Emperor Franz II (1768-1835), and in 1802 he contracted Belgian architect Louis de Montoyer (1747-1811) to add a wing of staterooms. In 1822, Duke Albert’s adopted son, Archduke Carl (1771-1847), employed Joseph Kornhäusel (1772-1860), a Viennese architect, to refurbish the apartments in Empire style.
Archduke Carl’s eldest son, Archduke Albrecht (1817-95), inherited the property in 1847. Towering 11 metres above street level, the palace gained a commanding position in the wake of the demolition in 1861 of this stretch of the old city walls. Over the course of the 1860s, Archduke Albrecht had the exterior remodelled in a historicist style. At the end of the decade, the Albrecht (or Danubius) Fountain was erected at the base of the bastion. The palace passed in 1895 to Archduke Albrecht’s nephew, Archduke Friedrich (1856-1936). Improvements carried out under his ownership included the installation of electricity and a hot-air heating system.
The 21 Habsburg Staterooms are spread out over two floors of the Albertina palace. The magnificent Hall of the Muses forms the centrepiece, flanked on either side by stately apartments. The palace’s original Louis XI décor had been ordered from the royal court ateliers in Paris and Versailles for Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen’s Brussels residence, Laeken Castle.
In 1822, Archduke Carl had the interiors redone in Empire style, commissioning the Viennese furniture manufacturer Joseph Danhauser (1780-1829) to refurbish the entire palace with fine furniture and elaborately inlaid parquet floors. Of the décor from the second half of the 19th century when the palace belonged to Archduke Albrecht, only the Rococo Room survives.
The Spanish Apartments were created under Albrecht’s nephew and heir, Archduke Friedrich. This was the only permanent residence of the Spanish royal family outside Spanish territory. When the palace was expropriated by the new Austrian state in 1919, Friedrich was permitted to take all its furnishings with him into exile in Hungary. The now empty apartments were converted into a study hall, a library, exhibition rooms, depots and office space.
(A note about "tea": From 1895, the best butter in Vienna came from the Teschen dairy farm owned by Archduke Friedrich, the last Habsburg resident of the Albertina palace. The abbreviation of the dairy’s name spelled the German word for tea. To this day quality butter is called "tea butter" in Austria.)
In 2000, work began on the comprehensive restoration of the staterooms. The return of the original furniture was secured through successive acquisitions as well as loans from the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art (MAK) and the Federal Furniture Depot’s Imperial Furniture Collection. International specialists took part in the restoration work, which was largely concluded by 2007. After decades of neglect, today the lavish period interiors transport the visitor back in time, evoking the age of Neoclassicism and the private and ceremonial lives of the Habsburgs who lived in the palace.
Albertina
In 1919, the newly established Republic of Austria expropriated the Habsburg palace and the art collection it contained, now renamed the Albertina Graphic Art Collection. Severe bomb damage in 1945 destroyed many of the staterooms, the palace facades and the access ramp leading to the bastion.
The palace underwent complete renovation in 2000-2003. The facades were returned to their original appearance, the historical state apartments were fully restored, and the Danubius Fountain (left) was reactivated. Four state-of-the-art exhibition rooms were created. Architect Hans Hollein canopied the entrance to the museum with a spectacular 64-metre titanium wing-shaped roof. Installed in 2004, the daring structure has become the hallmark of the new Albertina.
