Introduction
The Kunstmuseum Bern owns an important collection of art from the late Middle Ages to the present. The collection exhibition includes selected works from the holdings, presented in changing displays.
In the basement of the old wing the central avant-garde trends of modern art are represented with Cubism, Expressionism, Surrealism, and abstract art. Highlights include Violin Hanging on a Wall by Pablo Picasso, Meret Oppenheim’s Enchantment, or Piet Mondrian’s Tableau No. II with Grey and Black. The presentation is complemented by a selection of works by the Bernese artist Adolf Wölfli from the holdings of the Adolf Wölfli Foundation.
On the ground floor of the old wing, works by El Anatsui and Kader Attia as representatives of global contemporary art form the prelude. A neighboring room features the very greatest names of international art history: Paul Cézanne, Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh. Landscapes by Swiss exponents of modern art such as Ferdinand Hodler, Félix Vallotton and Giovanni Giacometti complete the exhibition. A side cabinet is dedicated to the donation of Marion Lichardus-Itten. It presents eight paintings by the artist Johannes Itten (1888–1967), that his daughter donated to the Kunstmuseum Bern in an extraordinarily generous gesture in 2024.
Adolf Wölfli (1864–1930)
Adolf Wölfli is considered one of the most important representatives of Art brut. He began drawing, writing and composing at the age of 35 in the Waldau psychiatric clinic near Bern. Since 1975, his extensive estate has been administered by the Adolf Wölfli Foundation, which analyses it scientifically and makes it accessible to the public in publications and exhibitions.The foundation has been housed in the Kunstmuseum Bern since its inception. In this room, it presents various aspects of Wölfli's work in changing presentations.
The Marion Lichardus-Itten Gift
The renowned prehistorian and archaeologist Marion Lichardus-Itten, daughter of the artist Johannes Itten and his second wife Anneliese, donated ten of her father’s outstanding works to Kunstmuseum Bern in 2024. Eight of the paintings are now being presented to the public for the first time. They cover a period from 1917 to 1964, providing a representative insight into the wide-ranging work of the Swiss painter, art theorist and art educator.
Works with audio guide number
A variety of other works from the collection of the Kunstmuseum Bern can currently be discovered on the upper floor of the new wing in the Collection Intervention by Amy Sillman (till 2.11.2025).
Imprint
The Collection
Kunstmuseum Bern
Curators: Nadine Franci, Anne-Christine Strobel, Nina Zimmer
Digital Guide:
Implementation: NETNODE AG
Project: Martin Stadelmann, Cédric Zubler
With the support of:
Pierre Kottelat
KUNSTMUSEUM BERN
Hodlerstrasse 8–12, CH-3011 Bern
T +41 (0)31 328 09 44
info@kunstmuseumbern.ch
kunstmuseumbern.ch/TheCollection
