Pinakothek der Moderne

The Pinakothek der Moderne (= "(Art) Gallery of the Modern"; from Greek: "pinax" = "board", "tablet") is a modern art museum, situated in the city centre of Munich, Germany. Together with its two predecessors Alte Pinakothek and Neue Pinakothek (therefore locally also referred to as "Dritte" - i.e. "Third" - Pinakothek), as well as the Museum Brandhorst, the Antikensammlungen (= "Collections of Antiques"), the Glyptothek, the Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus and the new joint building of the Ägyptisches Museum and the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film, currently both scheduled to open in 2012, it is part of Munich's "Kunstareal" (the "art district"). It is one of the world's largest museums for modern and contemporary art.

Designed by German architect Stephan Braunfels, the Pinakothek der Moderne was inaugurated in September 2002 after seven years of construction. The $120 million, 22,000-square-meter building took a decade to finish because of bureaucratic objections to design and cost, which were ultimately bridged by private initiative and financing. The rectilinear facade, dominated by white and grey concrete, is interrupted by large windows and high rise columns, the latter supporting the extensive canopied roof. Each of the four corners of the building, connected by a central domed rotunda, is dedicated to a special collection. The Museum is thus divided into Art (Kunst), Architecture (Architektur), Design (Design) and Works on Paper (Graphik). Meaner tongues in Munich, whose inhabitants often express a certain loathing for what they regard as faceless modernism lacking any local and / or regional roots, denounce it as "the cardboard box".

The first floor, containing the art collection, has ample natural light from above, augmented by computer-controlled lamps, designed to keep a consistent, nearly shadowless illumination against the gray floors and white walls.

Before the opening of the Pinakothek der Moderne, art of the 20th century was largely relegated to the Haus der Kunst, or occasional contemporary exhibits in the Lenbachhaus. Today, the Pinakothek unifies the "Sammlung Moderne Kunst" (National Collection of Modern and Contemporary Arts, which is under supervision of the Bavarian State Painting Collections), the "Staatliche Graphische Sammlung" (National Collection of Works on Paper), the "Neue Sammlung" ('New Collection': National Museum for Design and Applied Arts) with the "Architekturmuseum der Technischen Universität" (Munich Technical University's Museum of Architecture), in one building and is deemed one of the most important and popular museums of modern art in Europe. The Danner Foundation opened in 2004 a new permanent exhibition area in the basement for the permanent loans from the Danner Jewelry Collection which presents contemporary works from over one hundred international goldsmiths.

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