Liechtenstein Collections

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Liechtenstein Collections

Follow the Liechtenstein Collections with their holdings of masterpieces from the early Renaissance to the 19th century. Die 1607 von Fürst Karl I.

Get all the latest news, exclusive peeks behind the scenes and unique insights into six centuries of a passion for collecting. Die Sammlungen des regierenden Fürsten von und zu Liechtenstein vereinen Hauptwerke der europäischen Kunst aus fünf Jahrhunderten. von Liechtenstein (1569–1627) bei Adrian de Fries in Auftrag gegebene überlebensgrosse Bronze des „Christus im Elend“, die sich bis heute in f

ürstlichem Besitz erhalten hat, ist das erste dokumentierte Zeugnis der Betätigung eines Mitglieds des Fürstenhauses als Auftraggeber. Seither wurde diese Sammeltätigkeit kontinuierlich weiterverfolgt, sodass sich nunmehr über 30.000 Kunstobjekte in den Fürstlichen Sammlungen vereinen, die durch eine aktive Ankaufspolitik bis zum heutigen Tag sinnfällig ergänzt und verdichtet werden.

11/04/2026

Founded in 1897, the Vienna Secession set out to liberate art from state control and the pressures of the market, promoting artistic autonomy and aesthetic renewal in opposition to the Künstlerhaus.

Artists like Gustav Klimt cultivated the image of visionary figures, creating works that claimed truths beyond popular taste or commercial logic — most clearly expressed in pieces such as Nuda Veritas. This ideal extended to exhibition design: the Secession building functioned as a temple of art, purified of market presence — an early precursor to the “white cube.”

Yet economic realities remained, and the Secession’s split in 1905 ultimately revealed a lasting tension: in a capitalist society, artistic autonomy cannot exist outside the market — only through a carefully staged distance from it.

06/04/2026

In the eighteenth century, travelling abroad was an important part of the education of young aristocrats. The ‘Grand Tour’ took them across Europe, with Italy – especially Rome, known for its art treasures from antiquity to the early modern period – being a key destination. These trips not only enhanced their education and helped with political networking but also influenced their tastes and the local art market.

Paintings, prints, maps and views of famous sites offered portable memories of places visited, while portraits set among Roman ruins presented travel as a sign
of education and social standing.

In 1726, Henry Somerset, third Duke of Beaufort, commissioned a particularly precious souvenir from the Galleria dei Lavori in Florence: the Badminton Cabinet. This remarkable piece was one of the last major collaborative projects carried out by the grand ducal workshops, crafted by no fewer than thirty artisans over a span of six years.

05/04/2026

In France, public auctions were initially reserved for posthumous or forced sales. By the 1730s, however, they had evolved into major cultural events—held in elegant rented spaces where art could be viewed, compared, bought, and publicly debated.

By the late 18th century, Jean-Baptiste Pierre Lebrun became a key figure in the Paris art market. His auction catalogues combined prints, artist biographies, and market insights, while his Paris residence featured a grand auction hall that also served as an exhibition space for non-academic artists—bypassing the Royal Academy’s control.

With growing professionalization and systematically compiled catalogues documenting provenance and prices, the art market underwent lasting transformation. In London, James Christie established his auction house as a lasting institution and brand, helping position art as both a cultural and economic asset.

05/04/2026

04/04/2026

We asked a few visitors of our special exhibition DEALING IN SPLENDOUR what they thought and here’s what they said. ✨ Come and visit us! We‘re open until Monday.

03/04/2026

“Art is happy where wealth reigns,” wrote Dutch art historian Karel van Mander in 1604 — nowhere more so than in seventeenth-century Amsterdam. Rapid economic growth turned the city into Europe’s first mass market for paintings. Art was no longer made mainly on commission but produced in large numbers for an open market. The result: an unprecedented abundance of paintings across all social classes. By the late seventeenth century, middle-class households owned an average of 37 paintings.

The 1639 auction of Lucas van Uffel’s collection, an affluent Flemish merchant living in Amsterdam, became one of the most celebrated art sales of the century! Van Uffel had assembled an exceptional group of Italian Renaissance paintings, rare on the Dutch market and admired by collectors and artists alike. Its highlight: Raphael’s Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione, sold for 3,500 guilders, several times Rembrandt’s highest known fee at the time. Rembrandt himself attended, sketching the painting and noting its price.

The auction demonstrates how public sales could elevate masterpieces, reshape hierarchies, and inspire artists through encounter and competition.

01/04/2026

Long before modern art fairs, Antwerp pioneered an open art market through specialized sales spaces known as ‚panden‘. Initially tied to biannual fairs, these venues soon became permanent hubs where artists, dealers, and international buyers met. 🎨

Driven by the city’s booming economy and global trade networks, Antwerp grew into a major exporter of paintings, prints, and luxury goods made ‚on spec‘. Spaces like Our Lady’s Pand (1460) and the Schilderspand (Painters’ Gallery) in the new Bourse showcased large numbers of works, encouraging comparison, competition, and rapid innovation.

Though the panden declined around 1600, they had already established a lasting model of the art fair as a space for exchange, experimentation, and market-making that still shapes the art world today.

31/03/2026

FREE ENTRY & OPEN DAILY.

Our special exhibition „Dealing in Splendour“ at the is slowly coming to an end. Be sure to come and visit us until the 6th of April.

30/03/2026

We’re delighted to have welcomed our 50,000th visitor! 🎉 Yvonne Wagner, co-curator of ‚Dealing in Splendour‘, presented her with a copy of the exhibition catalogue as a small gift. Thank you, Sofia, for your visit!
We’d like to invite everyone to come and see the exhibition — it’s on view for one more week.

29/03/2026

In fifteenth-century Florence, art production reflected the city’s economic prosperity. Wealth from trade, banking, and craftsmanship fueled a thriving art market with many patrons. 🛡️

Most artworks were commissioned by families, guilds, or religious brotherhoods. Artists worked as independent entrepreneurs, negotiating directly with clients and formalizing contracts that defined subject, materials, size, price, and deadlines.

Workshops adapted by specializing and developing efficient methods. Serial production made art more accessible, while wealthy clients continued to commission large, high-quality works.

Artists like Sebastiano Mainardi (Slide two) reused successful compositions, repeating motifs with variations to meet demand and sustain production in Florence’s competitive market.

27/03/2026

When viewing a work of art, we usually focus on its aesthetic impact and appearance, its creator and the era from which it originates. 👀

Yet every work contains further, hidden stories about negotiations, exchanges, prices and changing values. DEALING IN SPLENDOUR invites you to discover the economic side of art history.

From antiquity to Renaissance, artworks have always moved through networks of artists, dealers, collectors and patrons. Materials, labour and demand shaped what was created, while the art market determined value, circulation and survival.

By tracing these paths, the exhibition reveals how closely creativity and market forces are intertwined and how many dynamics of today’s art market have existed for centuries.

Adresse

Fürstengasse 1
Vienna
1090

Webseite

https://www.liechtensteincollections.at/

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