The Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt is a multidisciplinary museum in Darmstadt. The museum brings together several collections of different genres: from Pieter Brueghel and Peter Paul Rubens to Arnold Böcklin, August Macke and Gerhard Richter, the collection of paintings includes over 440 works on display. The extensive heritage of the graphic collection then includes drawings by Albrecht Dürer, Michelangelo and Rembrandt van Rijn. The collection of medieval art and ivory treasures is also one of the most valuable of its kind. The Art Nouveau department with its jewelery collection and Henry van de Velde's chamber ensembles is also known around the world. Among the participations of international importance there is also the largest ensemble of works by Joseph Beuys, consisting of seven rooms and 290 works. The museum is also particularly known for its natural history collection. The 1906 zoological dioramas, which are architecturally integrated into the house, are world famous, as are the skeletal herds of over 100 animals and the sensational reconstructions of eleven hominid busts. The origins of the State Museum date back to the end of the 18th century. At the end of the 19th century, the Grand Duke Ernst-Ludwig commissioned the architect Alfred Messel (1853-1909) to construct a new museum building. With the building, completed in 1906, he managed to give each collection a specific architectural version with stylistic details that match the objects and excellent exhibition opportunities. The museum has been hailed as a total work of art. In 1984 the Messel building was extended with the addition of the architect Reinhold Kargel.