Habsburg Masterpieces Travel from Vienna to rome: A New Exhibition
A major exhibition, “From Vienna to Rome. Masterpieces of the Habsburgs from the Kunsthistorisches Museum,” will open on March 6th at the Palazzo Cipolla in Rome. The show, a collaboration between the kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM) in Vienna and the Fondazione roma, will run until July 5th, 2026.
The exhibition, held under the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Culture and the Austrian Embassy in Rome, marks the first time over 50 significant works from the KHM’s collections will be displayed in Italy. Curated by KHM art historian Cäcilia Bischoff,the selection spans four centuries of European painting,from the Renaissance to the Baroque period.
The artworks were collected or commissioned between the 16th and 18th centuries by members of the Habsburg dynasty, including Emperor Rudolf II, Archduchess Isabella Clara Eugenia, Archduke Leopold Wilhelm, and Empress Maria Theresa.The exhibition will explore the architectural parallels between the KHM and the Palazzo Cipolla, both representative of 19th-century historicism and the concept of the museum as a public cultural space.
Featured artists include Peter Paul Rubens, anthony van Dyck, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Frans Hals, Jan Steen, Gerard ter Borch, Jacob van Ruisdael, Lucas Cranach, Joachim von sandrart, and Jan Liss, alongside Italian masters such as Titian, Tintoretto, veronese, Orazio Gentileschi, and Guido Cagnacci.
Highlights include Diego Velázquez’s portrait of Infanta Margarita in a blue dress, works by Giuseppe Arcimboldo and David Teniers the Younger, and caravaggio’s “The Crowning with Thorns.” A dedicated section will showcase the Kunstkammer, one of Europe’s most vital “cabinets of wonders,” illustrating the Habsburgs’ encyclopedic collecting habits.
Organizers emphasize the exhibition as a dialog between european traditions,aiming to revitalize the European spirit through the language of beauty. The collaboration between the KHM and Fondazione Roma is presented as a demonstration of the museum’s role as a space for dialogue and hospitality,fostering connections across centuries and borders.
Keep reading