KHM Jahresbericht 2012 - Presse - Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien

Preface
Gustav Klimt was without a doubt the “man of the year” of 2012. For his 150 th birthday,
many Vienna museums organized exhibitions honouring this great artist of the
Ringstrasse period. The Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Austrian Theatre Museum
each presented a special exhibit; as a particular attraction, we constructed a “Klimt
Bridge” in the grand staircase of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, which was positively
stormed by the public. For the first time since their creation, it was possible to view the
spandrel paintings in the staircase produced by Gustav Klimt and his painters’ company
at close proximity. Due to its enormous success, this bridge remained standing after the
end of the Klimt show, until the beginning of 2013.
this important object from the public, and have commissioned the architect Adolf
Krischanitz to create a suitable presentation in the Museum of Ethnology. This impressive
object can be seen again at Heldenplatz from mid-November 2012, in a scholarly
presentation accompanied by documentation.
The Austrian Theatre Museum presented two highly successful exhibitions in 2012: one
on the phenomenon of operetta, in cooperation with the German Theatre Museum in
Munich, and another on the architect and theatre visionary Frederick Kiesler, organized
in collaboration with the Villa Stuck and with La Casa Encendida in Madrid.
2012 also saw a profusion of exhibition activities within the consortium of museums
and abroad. The successful Winter Tales exhibit went to the Kunsthaus Zurich in
February 2012, and the Vienna Kunstkammer was presented through a representative
selection of works in the Reiss-Engelhorn Museums in Mannheim from late February
2012. The two-month loan of the helmet and sword of the Albanian national hero
Skanderbeg from the Collection of Arms and Armour to the National Museum in Tirana
was of cultural and political significance. Minister Claudia Schmied and Vice-Chancellor
Spindelegger conducted the opening of the exhibition at the end of November 2012.
In Ambras Castle, Kunstkammer objects from the Green Vault in Dresden were shown
from July 13 th in a magnificent special exhibition.
Early in 2012, we started a very successful series of artists’ talks in the domed atrium
of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, whose glittering launch featured the U.S. artist
Jeff Koons. Talks with Martin Gayford, Nan Goldin, Ugo Rondinone, Kris Martin, Ed
Ruscha, Lawrence Weiner and Bice Curiger followed. From April 2012, the renovated
Theseus temple in the Volksgarten was the site of a Contemporary Program, which has
been extremely well received. By fall 2012, 90,000 visitors had seen these exhibitions.
In the Paintings Gallery, continued refurbishment took the form of rehanging of the
galleries and reclothing their walls, together with improvements to the lighting and the
labels. Director Sylvia Ferino also developed the new exhibition format Points of View
in 2012, which highlights one artwork from the collection four times per year. In the
Collection of Arms and Armour, the Society of Friends of the Collection of Arms and
Armour helped to finance the new presentation of an important group of objects
related to the courtly hunt. A new society of friends was founded in Ambras Castle.
In 2012, the Kunsthistorisches Museum completed an important brand strategy and
rebranding process, to be reflected in a new appearance of the three museums starting
in 2013 and a new corporate design.
In all, 2012 was a well-attended and economically successful year. We extend our thanks
to all employees for their labours and great dedication during the reporting year. All
those involved in the making of this 2012 Annual Report are likewise sincerely
thanked.
dr. Sabine Haag
dr. Paul Frey
director General
CFO
The structural renovation of the Kunstkammer was finished in mid-2012, and the reinstallation
of the collection began in the fall. It was possible to remain completely within
the planned budget. The date for the opening of the Kunstkammer was fixed for 28 February
2013, through a so-called soft-opening already took place on 12.12.2012: under
the motto “first room – first view”, the Berger Gallery was presented to the public,
providing a first impression of the spectacular restoration of this collection.
It should not go unmentioned that the Kunsthistorisches Museum has participated in
the Google Art Project from 2012, enabling a greatest possible number of people to
share in the holdings of our museums.
From 1 May 2012, the Museum of Ethnology has Steven Engelsman as its new director,
who will oversee the successful restarting of the museum and the complete reopening
of this great collection by 2016. Since a loan of the ancient Mexican feather headdress
(“Penacho”) to Mexico is not possible for reasons of preservation, as a multiyear
Austrian-Mexican research project concluded, we wanted to no longer withhold
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