10 Masterpieces You Can Only See In Munich

Though the stereotypical Munich tourist is a eBay-lederhosen-clad beer lover, it’s actually a fantastic city for art and culture lovers. With over 80 museums – many of which are just €1 on Sundays – as well as contemporary galleries, you can explore anything from ancient sculpture to cutting-edge contemporary design. Such extensive collections mean there are a range of masterpieces you can only see in Munich. Here are the top 10 to put on your list.

The Beauty – Antike am Königsplatz

Never mind the Chinese Terracotta Warriors, see a terracotta figure from the 3rd-century BC right in the heart of Munich at the State Collection of Antiques. The delicate figure is one of the best-preserved terracotta figures in the world and still has its distinctive colour. Though its provenance isn’t certain, statues like this were usually found by graves in ancient Greece, but historians still aren’t sure what purpose they served or what they may have symbolised.
Antikensammlungen, Königsplatz 1, Munich, Germany, +49 89 59988830

1. Two Heads II by Jean-Michel Basquiat – Museum Brandhorst

Building, Museum

Opened in 2009, the Brandhorst is a contemporary art lover’s dream. You’ll need to have an appreciation of the abstract for this piece. The early ’80s acrylic and oil canvas has a striking red background out of which two floating, almost cartoon-like heads appear. Basquiat was an American artist heavily influenced by Andy Warhol. After an early death at 27 from a drug overdose, his few works are hard to get hold of; two of them are at the Brandhorst.

A Golden Diadem from the Black Sea – Antike am Königsplatz

Few works in gold have survived from antiquity, but this diadem displayed at the State Collection of Antiques is an exception. Elaborately decorated, it was made on the Crimean Peninsula in around 150 BC. The front of the headdress is decorated with beautifully tasselled pendants, with a distinctive Hercules knot in the centre that looks almost like a coiled snake, and the top has two sea dragons on either side of the goddess Nike. Incredibly intricate, each part was designed and constructed separately before it being assembled.
Antikensammlungen, Königsplatz 1, Munich, Germany, +49 89 59988830

2. The Guardian of Paradise by Franz Stuck – Museum Villa Stuck

Museum

If every artist has a breakthrough moment that brings them to the public’s attention, The Guardian of Paradise was it for German painter Franz Stuck. Standing at 2.5 metres (8.2 feet) tall, it was his first large-scale oil painting. The subject is a man-like angel with soaring wings and a flaming sword, yet it’s the delicate background that makes this painting, and the otherworldly creature appears to almost glow. The painting took home the gold medal at the Glaspalast’s 1889 exhibition it and won Stuck 6,000 Marks and national recognition.

3. Waste by Damien Hirst – Museum Brandhorst

Building, Museum

Damien Hirst, known for his controversial exhibits, has a masterpiece at the Brandhorst that tame compared to an animal carcass suspended in formaldehyde – Waste: two large metal cabinets with glass walls full of medical waste. Behind the simplicity, Hirst revisits one of his prevailing themes, the capabilities and limitations of modern medicine. It’s kept company by two other works with a similar theme: Looking Forward to a Complete Suppression of Pain, and E.M.I.