Kunsthistoriches Museum Vienna

Director's Choice is a new series which introduces great art and heritage collections through the personal selections of the Director. These books reveal the Directors' unique insight into their chosen works and the reasons for their choices.

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The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna ranks among the most important European museum buildings of the 19th century. Built at the behest of Emperor Franz Joseph I as part of his expansion of the city, it was intended to unite and represent the artistic treasures that had been collected by the Habsburgs over the centuries. Its collections consist of Greek and Roman antiquities; Egyptian and Near East collections which include masterpieces of sculpture such as the Reserve Head from Giza; a picture collection developed from the art holdings of the House of Habsburg and recognised as one of the largest and most important of its kind in the world: sculpture and decorative arts, including the famous Saliera by Benvenuto Cellini; and a coin collection that is ranked one of the largest and most important in the world. Sabine Haag has selected personal highlights from across the collections of this exceptional museum.