Arnulf Rainer Museum

The Arnulf Rainer Museum stands in Baden, a town in Lower Austria, on Josefsplatz. It occupies the former Frauenbad, a 19th-century building in French classical style. The bathhouse opened in 1821 and closed in 1973 before becoming an exhibition centre. In 2006 the city decided to turn it into a museum dedicated to Arnulf Rainer, a painter born in Baden. After renovations costing about two million euros, the museum opened in September 2009. The museum aims to show Rainer’s wide-ranging work in painting, drawing, sculpture, printmaking and photography. Exhibitions change at least twice a year, often curated by notable figures such as Reinhold Baumstark or Jean-Michel Foray. The programme also includes literature, music, performances and talks to reflect the artist’s interdisciplinary approach. The building itself, designed by Karl Ritter von Moreau, retains its historic character while serving as a lively venue for contemporary art. Inside, visitors find the former bath hall with its richly decorated ceiling and marble basins still intact. The foyer displays the commemorative stone laid in 1821 by Archduke Anton. Temporary exhibitions occupy the surrounding galleries, each focusing on different phases of Rainer’s career or collaborations with other artists. Outside, the broad colonnade of Tuscan columns frames views of the town’s classical architecture.