Mahmoud Khalil Museum

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Mahmoud Khalil Museum entrance

The Mahmoud Khalil Palace is a stately building in Cairo that now houses a museum.

history

The three-story palace of Muhammad Mahmoud Pasha (1877–1941) was built in 1915, based on the neoclassical and French style of Art Nouveau in the old town of Cairo . Its builder was two-time Egyptian Prime Minister and art collector.

Van Gogh Poppies , also known as the Vase of Flowers . Mahmoud Mahmoud Khalil Museum Cairo

After the death of Mohammed Mahmoud Khalil in 1953, his family lived in the building until 1960. His wife then decreed in her will that the palace and art collection should be made accessible to the public. The family seat was converted into a museum and officially opened as the Mahmoud Khalil Museum on July 23, 1962 , and is dedicated to Mahmoud Khalil and his wife Emiline Lock. The structure is located between the Nile island of Gezira and the Cairo University Bridge near the western bank of the Nile in the Dokki district of the city of Giza .

In 1981 President Sadat moved into the neighboring building and soon needed additional space. The collection was moved to a palace in Zamalek and only returned to the building, which is well worth seeing, in 1995 - long after Sadat's murder.

Collections

Auguste Rodin (company name unknown). Mahmoud Khalil Museum Cairo

With over 200 works by Vincent van Gogh , Paul Gauguin , Peter Paul Rubens , Auguste Renoir , Claude Monet and other well-known European and Egyptian painters, the museum houses what is probably the most important collection of 19th century Impressionist art in the Middle East. It also has collections of Chinese vases and sculptures by important sculptors such as Auguste Rodin , Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux , Louis Antoine Barye and Charles Cordier . According to the Egyptian state information service, the total value of the collection is a good five billion euros.

Incidents

Due to inadequate or missing surveillance systems, art thieves cut the 40 million euro painting "Poppies" or "Vase with Flowers" by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh out of its frame with a cutter knife in broad daylight in August 2010 . According to the director, the work from 1887 is known by this title. According to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam it is called "Vase with Viscaria".

literature

Web links

Coordinates: 30 ° 2 ′ 7.9 ″  N , 31 ° 13 ′ 10.6 ″  E