Städel, Frankfurt am Main

The Städel Museum ranks as Germany's oldest museum foundation, established in 1815 by banker Johann Friedrich Städel. He spent decades acquiring paintings, drawings, and prints during his travels, and his will created an institution dedicated to advancing public knowledge of art. The foundation predates Germany itself, and the museum has grown from Städel's original bequest into a collection of 3,100 paintings and over 100,000 works on paper. Robert Campin's tender Virgin and Child represents the Early Netherlandish mastery that Städel particularly prized.

The museum moved to its current location on the Schaumainkai in 1878, joining what is now Frankfurt's Museum Embankment. World War II bombing severely damaged the building, and reconstruction continued through 1966. A major underground extension opened in 2012, nearly doubling gallery space for contemporary art. The collection spans 700 years, from medieval altarpieces through Hieronymus Bosch's strange visions to Max Liebermann's German Impressionism. Works by Mantegna, Gerard ter Borch, and Adriaen Brouwer fill the Old Masters galleries. Vermeer's lost Geographer once hung here before its wartime sale.