What's On at Europe's Museums

Through June 9, Tuesdays and Wednesday 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.; Thursdays - Sundays and public holidays 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.

A portrait of Kaiser Franz I in full royal regalia was the painting upon which Friedrich Amerling founded his career. The Vienna-born painter is regarded as one of the most important portraitists of the Biedermeier era and became a beloved portraitist in high society 19th century Vienna. Amerling completed over 1,200 works during his life and the Austrian Gallery in Vienna is celebrating his 200th birthday by showing an equal number of his works.

Swiss collector Jean Planque was a friend to many of the best known artists of the 20th century -- and "From Cézanne to Dubuffet - the Jean Planque Collection," which is currently showing at Paris City Hall until July 27, is a selection of his private collection. The 170-piece set includes works by Monet, Bonnar, de Stael, van Gogh and Rouault and 15 works by Picasso.

Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) may have been one of the most-famous Dutch painters of the 17th century, but he only left the world around 35 works of art when he died. Now, a selection of those he did leave behind are on show at the Prado Museum in Madrid alongside additional works by contemporary Dutch painters. It's the first time Vermeer's paintings have been shown in Spain. The works are on loan from museums and art houses in Berlin, London, Amsterdam and New York.

The post-war avant-garde CoBrA movement only spent a very short time in the artistic limelight after its formation in 1948 by a group of Dutch and Belgium painters and named after the cities where its members worked (Brussels, Copenhagen and Amsterdam.) The Stedelijk Museum in the Dutch city of Schiedam near Rotterdam has an extensive collection of the sculptures, painting and graphic art by members of the movement including Karel Apel, Corneille, Constant, Eugène Brands, Luebert and Anton Rooskens. They have recently been restored and the show runs until Sept. 28.