Four Museums

To commemorate the bicentenary of Antonio Canova’s birth, Venetian authorities commissioned Carlo Scarpa to extend the original museum. Scarpa created a small, intricately designed building that contrasts with the neo-Classical basilica. This unique sequence of spaces stands out among Scarpa’s museum interiors, as he could compose both the spaces and the placement of exhibits. Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao is a recent architectural marvel, serving as a central element in the city's urban renewal. Located between river, railway, and bridge, it symbolizes the Basque metropolis, embodying both public presence and artistic evolution. The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston features a unique architectural collection, including the Caroline Wiess Law Building, the original 1924 structure by William Ward Watkin, and later additions by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, along with Isamu Noguchi's 1986 sculpture garden. Rafael Moneo’s proposed four-story Audrey Jones Beck Building will connect to the Law Building via an underground walkway, reinforcing the site’s urban character. Heinz Tesar's work stands out in Austrian architecture, showcasing creativity that defies modern conventions. His impressive museum in Klosterneuburg houses 4,000 objects from the Essl collection, the most significant collection of Austrian art post-1945.