Moravská Galerie v Brně

Moravian Gallery in Brno

The Moravian Gallery in Brno, the second-largest art museum in the Czech Republic, holds more than 200,000 objects spanning fine and applied arts, design, fashion, photography, and graphic design. Its collections are housed across three historic buildings in the center of Brno, including the Governor’s Palace and the Museum of Applied Arts. The Gallery’s fine-art collection originated in the Picture Gallery of the Moravian Museum, founded in 1817, and has been enriched over two centuries through aristocratic gifts, civic initiatives, and private collections.

The Dutch and Flemish holdings were established early, with the donation of Peter Paul Rubens’s Head of Medusa in 1818. Other notable works include Herman Saftleven’s Landscape with Sunset (1645), a Lamentation of Christ by a follower of Gerard David, and Jan Massijs’s Merry Company (1562). The collection was significantly expanded through the bequests and purchases of local collectors Heinrich Gomperz and Arnold Skutezky. The latter’s collection, acquired in 1923, brought together important paintings and an exceptional group of Dutch and Flemish drawings, including works by Maarten van Heemskerck. Further acquisitions followed through state-mandated transfers after the Second World War and the Communist takeover of 1948.

Dr. Petr Tomášek, Curator of Early Art and Nineteenth-Century Art Collections (Painting and Sculpture) (September 2026)