The aim of the exhibition is to emphasize the role of the medal as an object of art. Moreover, it will illuminate how the role of artists developed from the universal genius of the Renaissance and early Baroque to specialists for separate genres of the arts during the later years of the monarchy.

The exhibition Imperial Impressions is dedicated to artists who were active at Habsburg courts and residences. It focuses on masters who were at ease in several genres of the arts, such as architecture, painting, and sculpture. It is the fact that they also made medals that warranted their inclusion in this exhibition, however. As the objects on display were mostly produced for members of the imperial family, they were of the highest quality. The period of the presented artists ranges from around 1500 to the end of the monarchy in 1918.

The Kunstkammer will show significant medals, each in conjunction with well-known artworks by the same artist. The Coin Collection will provide wider and more in-depth context. The presentation of renowned works together with exceptional works from the field of medal-making art introduces visitors to a new, unusual viewpoint at familiar objects from the collection.

The exhibition comprises about eighty works: medals, coins, paintings, gemstones, ivory and goldsmithery. Most object stem from the museum’s own collection, complemented by loans from the Numismatic Collection at the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and from the Tyrolean Landesmuseen