Lenbachhaus

Lenbachhaus is one of those small but perfectly formed museums of the world. I'm not sure about you but I seem to struggle with those supersize museums, especially when you have to pay to get in and you desperately want to get your money's worth. 

Lenbachhaus first opened in 1929 in the former residence of artist Franz von Lenbach. It recently had a facelift (well, a bit more than just a facelift to be honest, it had a complete re-design, re-furbishment and a new wing added) by London architecture firm Fosters and Partners and re-openend in 2013. 

It houses the most extensive collection of Der Blaue Reiter paintings, a local art movement founded in 1911 by Russian emigrants Wassily Kandinsky, Alexej von Jawlensky,Marianne von Werefkin, and German artists such as Franz MarcAugust Macke and Gabriele Münter. A large amount of those paintings was given to the museum by artist Gabriele Münter herself on her 80th birthday in 1957.

The rest of the museum's exhibits aren't too shoddy either with a large collection of work by Joseph Beuys as well as some great paintings of the Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity), the period after World War I of the 1920's and 30's.

Above: Schaf by Joseph Beuys

Oh, and after all the culture you can have a lovely Kaffee und Kuchen in the attached restaurant ELLA. 

Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus
Luisenstraße 33
D-80333 München