In the middle of 1881 the committee in charge of building in Vienna commissioned
Hans Makart with the overall equipment of the large staircase. However, since Makart died in 1884, only the lunette pictures had been completed by then and could be affixed to the walls of the museum. The committee had to look for other artists for the missing spandrel and intercolumniation paintings. In 1885
Hans Canon was initially entrusted with the ceiling painting, but he also died a few months later. Finally, Mihály Munkácsy was commissioned to paint the ceiling with
Apotheosis of the Renaissance, which was completed in the middle of 1890. The
Maler-Compagnie, in which the brothers
Gustav and
Ernst Klimt as well as
Franz Matsch had merged, was to carry out the spandrel and intercolumniation pictures. The works were completed in 1891. Concept and naming of the interior came from
Albert Ilg. == Ceiling painting: Mihály Munkácsy ==