Boasting one of the most important collections of art in Germany, the Städel Museum has a history that dates back to 1815 when it was founded by Frankfurt banker Johann Friedrich Städel. It was moved to its current Gründerzeit-style building in Frankfurt’s Schaumainkai museum district in 1878 and has grown its collection to more than 2,700 paintings and around 600 sculptures, as well as a significant number of drawings and prints.
The Städel was significantly damaged by Allied bombings during World War II and the collection was moved to the Schloss Rossbach, a castle owned by the Baron Thüngen in Bavaria. It was rebuilt in 1966 based on a design by local ar-chitect Johannes Krahn, with an additional exhibition space designed by Austrian Gustav Peichl added in 1990 to display the museum’s 20th-century works.
The collection includes European paintings created over the last 700 years, in-cluding prominent Late Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque works, as well as mod-ern works from the 20th and 21st centuries. Notable pieces include Sandro Botti-celli’s “Portrait of a Young Woman”, Rembrandt van Rijn’s “The Blinding of Samson” and Johannes Vermeer’s “The Geographer”. In addition, Jan van Eyck’s “Lucca Madonna” is exhibited, together Edgar Degas’ “Musicians in the Orchestra” and there’s a significant collection of works by German Expressionist artist Max Beckmann.
The Städel Museum has recently launched an app so visitors can listen to audio guides on their own devices while exploring the collection. Art enthusiasts can also access “Art History Online – The Städel Course on Modern Art” to be guid-ed through the history of art from the mid-18th century to the present.