The Patrons of the Fine Arts from the House of Habsburg

The ceiling painting in Gallery 19 glorifies the major patrons of the arts among the Habsburgs. The painter Julius Victor Berger (1850–1902) was a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. He portrayed the most important patrons, from Emperor Maximilian I to Emperor Franz Joseph I, surrounded by their court scholars and court artists. The portrayals are taken largely from well-known paintings and sculptures, many of which are owned by the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Objects from the Kunstkammer, the Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities and the Collection of Arms and Armour, which were on display together here on the upper ground floor until 1935, enliven the foreground. The concept of the painting was developed by the art historian Albert Ilg (1847–1896) who worked in the Kunsthistorisches Museum as a curator. The oil painting on canvas was completed and mounted in 1891, shortly before the opening of the museum.