Lindenau-Museum, Art museum in Altenburg, Germany
The Lindenau Museum is an art museum in Altenburg housing one of the most significant collections of Italian painting north of the Alps. Its holdings include about 180 Italian panel paintings from the 13th to 16th centuries along with ancient vessels, Renaissance sculptures, and a specialized art library.
Bernhard August von Lindenau opened his collection to the public in 1848 in an exhibition building on his Pohlhof estate, designed by Leipzig architect Albert Geutebrück. He also founded an art school that continues today as Studio Bildende Kunst. His heirs had the Pohlhof building demolished in 1876 after the collection moved into the present museum building.
The museum's name honours Bernhard August von Lindenau, the Saxon-Thuringian statesman and collector who opened his holdings to the public in 1848. A related art school, founded alongside the collection, continues today as Studio Bildende Kunst — a link between school and museum that is unique in Germany.
The museum building on Gabelentzstraße has been closed for renovation since January 2020. A small selection of objects is shown at the interim venue at Kunstgasse 1, while special exhibitions take place in the Prinzenpalais of Altenburg Residential Palace. Since October 2020 the museum has been part of the Altenburger Museen association with the palace.
In 2009 the museum bought more than 100 unique works by Gerhard Altenbourg with support from the Hermann Reemtsma Foundation, the Kulturstiftung der Länder, Thuringia and banks, giving it the largest Altenbourg collection worldwide. Altenbourg lived 1926 to 1989; his work anchors the graphic collection alongside 1920s print portfolios.
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