Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel, Switzerland

The Kunstmuseum Basel houses the largest and most significant public art collection in Switzerland. The Kunstmuseum possesses the largest collection of works by the Holbein family. Further examples of Renaissance art include important pieces by such masters as Konrad Witz, Hans Baldung (called Grien), Martin Schongauer, Lucas Cranach the Elder and Mathias Grünewald.

The main features of the 17th and 18th centuries are the Flemish and Dutch schools (e.g. Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt, Jan Brueghel the Elder), German and Dutch still life painting. Key works from the 19th century include the Impressionists represented by Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Paul Gauguin, Paul Cézanne as well as the paintings by Vincent van Gogh and Switzerland’s Arnold Böcklin and Ferdinand Hodler.

In the 20th century, the focus is on works of Cubism with Picasso, Braque and Juan Gris. Expressionism is represented by such figures as Edvard Munch, Franz Marc, Oskar Kokoschka and Emil Nolde. The collection also includes works from Constructivism, Dadaism and Surrealism and American art since 1950. Further highlights are the unique compilations of works from Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger, Paul Klee, Alberto Giacometti and Marc Chagall.

In the realm of more recent and contemporary art, the collection maintains substantial bodies of work by Swiss, German, Italian, and American artists, including Joseph Beuys, Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, Georg Baselitz, A.R. Penck, Brice Marden, Bruce Nauman, Jonathan Borofsky, Roni Horn, Francesco Clemente, Mimmo Paladino, Enzo Cucchi, Martin Disler, Leiko Ikemura, Markus Raetz, Rosemarie Trockel and Robert Gober.

The Kunstmuseum’s main building was designed and constructed 1931-1936 by architects Paul Bonatz und Rudolf Christ.

References:

Wikipedia

Museums in Switzerland

User Reviews

Semenova Maria (10 months ago)
Great collection! Anticipate to spend 3 hours if you want to see both the old and new buildings.

Michael Martini (10 months ago)
Happy Hour after 5 o'clock allows one to take two or three evenings to stroll through some of the great exhibitions.

Sebastian Krug (10 months ago)
very skillful artworks, bright rooms, short walking distances

Paula Datti Mariusso (10 months ago)
Really nice and accessible collection. Great artists!

A J (10 months ago)
Impressive collection, among the best in Switzerland. Early works from Picasso and great collection of works by Swiss painters Hodler and Bocklin. Also has some nice impressionist works from Pissarro, Cézanne’s bathers, Renoir, Van Gough, Monet, etc. No written annotations but you can pay for an audio guide. You can also access the new building which has more modern art. The ticket staff member was very particular about the student ticket, refused my photo on my phone while I had been fine using that other places. Full ticket is 16 francs

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