The Museum is located in a former convent founded in 1232 by Dominican nuns, adjacent to a chapel dedicated to Saint John under the limetree (Saint Johan unter der Linde), thence Unterlinden, a name still used nowadays. The chapel and the convent were built between 1254 and 1289. The convent, which had been a center of mysticism in the Rhineland during the 14th and 15th centuries, was severely tried in modern times. It was closed down in 1790. It became a museum in 1849. It houses the most valuable masterpieces of art and history in Upper-Alsace and, especially, the renowned Issenheim Altarpiece painted by Grünewald c. 1510-1515 for the Antonine monks monastery. The Portrait of a woman by Holbein the Elder, a Melancholy and a Crucifixion by Cranach the Elder have recently made great additions to the great collection of Rhenish sculptures and paintings. A large collection of decorative arts (furniture, earthenware, wrought iron work), of folk art (among which a wine-cellar) and of various objects of historical interest is presented on the first floor. The basement contains the archaeological collections (the mosaic from Bergheim) and contemporary art (Monet, Magnelli, Soulages).

Dernière mise à jour : 06/03/2010 15:31:32