MUNICH.- From June 2014 onwards Old Master painting will enter a fascinating dialogue with 19th-century art during a presentation of selected works from the Alte Pinakothek in rooms at the Neue Pinakothek. Continuity and contrasting elements in the artistic concepts of the different epochs will immediately become apparent. During the partial closure of the Alte Pinakothek visitors are therefore being offered a unique opportunity to train their comparative eye, enabling them to experience formal or subject-related aspects of individual works more consciously and, in so doing, to rediscover the paintings of the Neue Pinakothek as well.

Continuous change is the underlying concept of the presentation ‘Flowing Transition’. Over the next few years, depending on the stage of renovation work at the Alte Pinakothek, paintings by Old Masters will be moved to the Neue Pinakothek and later returned to their former home. For visitors, this ‘flowing transition’ is particularly appealing as different familiar faces – such as Jacob van Ruisdael, Nicolas Poussin, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, among others – can be explored anew in unfamiliar surroundings on each visit to the Neue Pinakothek and, in this way, the surrounding works from between 1800 and 1900 experienced as a (counter-)reaction to artistic tradition.

This ‘flowing transition’ will be launched by a group of Dutch paintings from the Golden Age. The works of Jan van der Heyden, Caspar Netscher, Pieter Cornelisz. van Slingelandt and Philips Wouwerman blend seamlessly with the holdings of the Neue Pinakothek and prove to what extent 19th-century art is bound, in part, to historical patterns. On the other hand, the confrontation between paintings by Carel de Hooch and Nicolaes Maes and works from the Neue Pinakothek with related subjects testify to the radical approach of new artistic solutions at the turn of the 20th century. The initial stage of this ‘flowing transition’ is a perfect supplement to the interim presentation ‘New Neighbours’ at the Alte Pinakothek, as it documents the resonance of Dutch painting so clearly,

In July, the holdings of the Neue Pinakothek will expand to include exquisite French Rococo paintings, such as François Boucher’s Portrait of Madame de Pompadour and genre scenes by Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin and Jean-Baptiste Greuze. In autumn, this will be followed in the second stage of the presentation by 17th-century masterpieces from the Netherlands . In spring 2015, exceptional works by Spanish Old Masters, accompanied by several paintings by French artists, will form counterpoints and a means of comparison with the art of the 19th century.

A continuously updated plan of the Neue Pinakothek will provide information about the paintings from the Alte Pinakothek exhibited at any one time. Colours and the ‘Flowing Transition’ symbol will guarantee easy orientation in the museum itself and invite visitors to examine the works more intensively.