Germany Guide
North Rhine-Westphalia
Museum Kunst Palast
Address: In the Hofgarten
Opening time: Tues– Sun 11am–6pm
Price: €10
Website: www.museum-kunst-palast.de
The Museum Kunst Palast is worth a visit for its eclectic collection of modern and not-so-modern art, though the thematic displays – which juxtaposes twentieth-century artists Franz Marc or Alexej von Jawlensky with medieval woodcarvers – will irritate some. Highlights include Rubens' Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Venus and Adonis, and works by painters of the nineteenth-century Düsseldorf school, whose pleasing landscapes give light relief from the occasionally heavy-handed moral themes. Not to be missed is the Glasmuseum Hentrich on the building's lower floors, with an encyclopedic glass collection that encompasses the Romans, Tiffany, Gallé, Lalique and some superb contemporary Czech and German fine art glassware. Much of the display is grouped by glassmaking technique, which makes a visit informative as well as fun.