VII. Bourgeois Leisure
In addition to mountain scenery and the working population, Swiss artists at the beginning of the 20th century began to increasingly focus on the urban environment and, with it, the pleasures of the bourgeoisie. Public recreational spaces and leisure venues, as well as showpeople and their audiences, became important subjects in the art of western Modernism.
Parks offering a respite from the hustle and bustle of the city and simultaneously serving as a space for social gatherings became popular motifs. For example, Martha Stettler, who lived in Paris, depicted people strolling and children playing in atmospheric en plein air scenes such as Le Parc (The Park). At the same time, the depiction of private interiors, which served as a space for domestic leisure and a retreat from the increasingly noisy outside world, likewise gained in importance.
Other artists produced portraits of dancers or scenes from concert halls and variety shows, focussing on the differing aspects of cultural leisure activities. Louis Moilliet, for example, explored the world of the circus and its performers in several paintings, while Cuno Amiet dedicated two large-scale works from the 1920s to musicians.