European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 20, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Vienna s Art museum undergoes much needed renovation # a amps file the physical condition of Vienna s  museum does not match its wonderful collection of Art by Michael z. Wise the Washington Post when austrian emperor Franz Josef dedicated the  museum in 1891, he proclaimed himself fully pleased with the monumental shrine built to House the Imperial Art collection. Quot Only now Are the objects being accorded their due recognition Quot he said after touring the sumptuous building on Vienna s Rin Strasse. Even though its collection is considered among the finest in the world a it includes an unparalleled group of paintings by Pieter Bruegel the elder and masterpieces by Titian Durer Rembrandt and Rubens a successive governments Over the past Century neglected to update the museum s facilities significantly. The  museum museum of Art history Long kept its paintings and antiquities in dimly lit rooms devoid of modern climatic controls. For years the treasures have been bombarded with exhaust fumes from tour buses parked outside the building. And scant attention was paid to guarding against fire and theft. In 1989, a National inquiry deplored deteriorating conditions at the museum. Objects were found to be poorly displayed and labelled. Exhibition space was in a Quot slovenly  alarm Over these shortcomings jolted the austrian government into action. Finally in conjunction with the museum s Centennial last year the museum undertook a $26 million refurbishment of its Dingy mud hued galleries. Air conditioning humidification and up to Date Security systems Are being installed. Windows Are being sealed against pollution. Electrical lighting is making its debut in the galleries of egyptian and Oriental antiquities previously obliged to shut at dusk. And modern illumination has been installed in the grand foyer staircase to improve viewing of frescoes by Gustav Klimt and Hans Makart. Quot our museums suffered because they did not share from the beginning in the postwar economic revival Quot said Wilfried Seipel director of the . Quot there were other priorities. First we paid attention to the opera and the Heaters which were in ruins after the War. Musical culture has always had a higher importance than the visual arts in  most of the changes due to be completed Over the next two years involve upgrading the dilapidated infrastructure of the 90,000-Square-foot building which faces the natural history museum in a twin Complex across from the Homburg Palace former residence of the hapsburg emperors. There s also a proposal to expand the . Seipel has begun negotiations with government ministers on plans to construct exhibition areas beneath Maria theresine Platz Between the Art and science museums. This subterranean addition May also link the Imperial collection with a museum of 20th-Century austrian Art planned to open in 1995 in the former Royal stables nearby. At present the  is Able to display just 1,300 of the 8,000 paintings in its Possession. It also lacks areas devoted to visiting exhibitions so even More paintings Are often relegated to the storerooms. Museum activities Are also undergoing a fundamental transformation following a change in similar institutions abroad. Corporate sponsors Are being sought for the first time and aggressive marketing techniques invoked. A new austrian Law Grants the museum Freedom to supplement a growing government subsidy through self management of its gift shops where sales have tripled Over the past year. Corporate backing enabled the museum to hold a visiting exhibition from the Kremlin Treasury this past summer which realized a Small profit through increased entry prices longer visiting hours and Catalon sales. This the associated press the roots of the artistic revolution Pablo Picasso set in motion Are currently on display in a unique exhibit of his Early paintings that runs through april 19. Pablo Picasso 1905-1906 at the Picasso museum in Barcelona Spain opened earlier this month and represents the largest collection of the artist s work from this period Ever assembled in a single show. Barcelona s director of culture Francesc Vicens called the period a critical time in the Painter s life and his work when he left the so called Quot Blue Quot period and entered the More tender and Light Quot Rose Quot period. Quot this exhibit provides a Complete introduction to Picasso during these years and documents the growth that would Lead to his new artistic language Quot Vicens said. Quot out of it would come Les Demoiselles d Avignon summer the museum plans to use additional corporate funds to mount a major show devoted to the links Between the hapsburgs in Austria and Spain. Before being gathered under one roof on the Rin Strasse the Imperial collections were housed in various viennese palaces. With relatively few changes since the monarchy the museum retains the character of a vast private collection and has an abundance of hapsburg family portraits. Rather than offering a systematic overview of Art history the pictures largely reflect the personal tastes of Imperial collectors and their dynastic links around Europe. The tradition of hapsburg collecting dates at least As far Back As emperor Ferdinand in 1564. It was Only in the second half of the 19th Century that the hapsburgs decided to place their artistic possessions in a single Structure built As a Public museum. The works remained family property until the fall of the Austro hungarian Empire in 1918. Since then Lack of funds hampered major new acquisitions for a collection that makes no attempt to include works originating much after the turn of this Century. This year s acquisition budget for example will be just Over $1 million an amount that buys Little on today s Art Market. One of the most revolutionary paintings of the 20th  the exhibit features works from collections in Europe Australia Japan and the United states and includes oils Watercolours gouache Bronze sculptures and drawings. It traces the artist s works through his Rose period and the works he did in ochre during a three month stay in the pyrenees mountains. Among the Best known paintings on display Are those featuring circus performers including family of acrobats with a Monkey and the harlequin s family. The exhibit took nearly three years to assemble and is a joint Effort of the Picasso museum and the Kunt museum in Berne Switzerland. From Barcelona the exhibition will travel to the Kunt museum where it will be on display from May 8 to july 26. Barcelona puts Early Picasso on display 8 stripes Magazine february 20, 1992