Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1891-10-24 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

THE AUSTRIAN MUSEUMS.  The Emperor of Austria opened on Saturday the new Imperial Museum of Art, in the Ring Strasse, opposite the old palace of the Hof burg. The ceremony was attended by all the Ministers, by the Burgomaster of Vienna, and a number of invited guests. The Museum is, in its external aspect, an exact counterpart of the Natural .History Museum opened last year, from which it is divided by a spacious square, in the centre of which stands the Maria Theresa Monument. The edifice has been in the hands of Baron Hasenauer, the:architect, for no less than 16 years, though, like the corresponding Museum, it has been externally finished for the last 10 years. The interval has been employed on the decorations of the interior, of whose lavish richness and beauty probably very few people have any idea, unless they have visited the building which was opened last year. Every sculptor and painter of note who has lived in Vienna for the last 10 years has, says the Standard correspondent in the city, been employed, more or less, in assisting in the embellishment of this Museum of Art. The late celebrated Austrian artist, Herr Makart, is well represented in the works of art which adorn the walls and ceilings of the Museum. The Hungarian painter Herr Munkacsy has a painting on the ceiling of the great entrance hall, representing the apotheosis of Art, which forms one of the principal attractions of the building. This picture was painted on one piece of canvas, woven especially tor the purpose, and so large that the painter had to have a special house built to enable him to work on it. The entrance hall shews another celebrated work of art, to wit, Canova's marble group of Theseus and the Centaur, which for many years stood in a special Greek temple in the Yolks Garten here. This group stands on the first landing of the grand staircase. The dimensions of the entrance hall, in which the chief ceremony took place, may be gathered from the fact that this immense group by Canova appears dwarfed to only a medium size. The ground floor to the right and left of the entrance hall leads to the collections of Roman, Greek, Mediteval, and Renaissance antiquities, to the Egyptian Museum, to the collection of Greek vases, antique bronzes, cut stones and coins, aid to the very important collection of objects of old ait industry, altogether occupying 39 large rooms. In the basement are the celebrated Princes' tombs, with unique reliefs found in Lycia, in Asia Minor. The principal part of the museum is, however, the first floor, with 14 very large and 19 smaller rooms. They are on either Bide of the splendid circular hall that is surmounted by a lofty cupola. The first floor contains the Imperial Picture Gallery, with 1,735 old masters and about 300 new masters. With the exception of about 150 old masters, including paintings by Titian, Veronese, Velasquez, Rubens, Diirer, and others, for which no room could hitherto be found, and which had till now been hidden away, all the works in this collection are well known,and„ indeed, famous throughout the world as the former gallery of the Vienna Belvedere. It is hardly possible to describe how greatly the numerous celebrated pictures of this gallery—for Instance, the Rubens collection—have gained in colour and effect by their new surroundings. The splendid roof-light is common to all the central halls, while the smaller rooms on each side have side lights. These collections will be thrown open in a few days. The second floor has 12 rooms containing a very fine collection of water colours from the various Imperial Palaces. Very few people in Vienna had any knowledge of the existence of these works. The Museum will altogether unite what has hitherto been scattered all over the city, including the Belvedere Gallery, the Ambraser collection, the Imperial Armoury, and the larger part of the celebrated Wiener Schatzkammer in the old Hofburg. In addition to these, whatever was found in the Imperial palaces and castles throughout Austria worthy of a place has been included with these better-known collections. All the contents of the Art Museum, as well as the Natural History Museum, together with the buildings themselves, are the private property of the Emperor, who, by i help of munificent grants from the Civil List, s every year adding to the already very rich collections of the Imperial house.  Edgar Upjohn, 40 years of age, a commercial traveller, residing at No. 6, Darenth-road, Stoke Newington, committed suicide on Friday evening, by shooting himself through the head with a revolver.—Mrs. Upjohn was out visiting, and on her return the servant told her she had heard the report of firearms upstairs, but was afraid to go and ascertain the cause. Mrs. Upjohn and the servant, however, went up to the study, and there found Mr. Upjohn lying on the floor with a five-chambered revolver by his side. One chamber had been discharged, and that into the mouth of the deceased. No reason is given for the act. A most unfortunate accident has occurred at a station on the line between Hamburg and Altona. It appears that Major Cliiwer, an officer of the general staff, at present acting as a railway commissary in Altona, was on Wednesday afternoon run over by a train at this point. One of his arms was torn off, and he received serious injuries to the head. His condition is hopeless.  The death is recorded of the Rev. A. Walbaum,_ D. 8., Chaplain of the German Chapel Royal and of the German Lutheran Church, at Dalston, in the 84th year of his age. The deceased was one of the founders of the German Hospital in Dalston, and acted as hon. secretary and chaplain to that institution ever since its opening in 1E45. He was well known amongst the German community in London, and took an intense interest in the institutions with which he was so long connected. " '