Kunstmuseum Basel

The Kunstmuseum Basel ranks among the most renowned institutions of its kind in Europe and beyond. Its world-famous collection, the Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel, now encompasses around 4.000 paintings, sculptures, installations, and videos as well as 300.000 drawings and prints from seven centuries. Its historic nucleus is the Amerbach Cabinet, the art collection built by Basilius Amerbach, a prominent citizen of Basel. It was purchased by the city and the university in 1661 and displayed to the public starting in 1671, arguably making it the world’s oldest municipal art collection.

This museum greets you in the following languages: D/F/I/E
Opening 1661

Current exhibitions

Max Sulzbachner. Moonlit Nights and Ruckus in Basel

26.10.2019 - 09.02.2020

The Kunstmuseum Basel honors the Basel artist Max Sulzbachner (1904–1985) with a focused retrospective of his eclectic oeuvre and a publication. Despite Sulzbachner’s renown and abiding popularity, his work has never been the subject of a comprehensive study. The exhibition and the accompanying catalogue will close this gap in the historiography of art in Basel.

The exhibition is documented in the following languages: D

A Passion for Pictures. Louise Bachofen-Burckhardt: Collecting for Basel

26.10.2019 - 29.03.2020

The presentation demonstrates how much of the Kunstmuseum’s present-day profile and renown are due to Louise Bachofen-Burckhardt’s endeavors. No less important than the addition of her treasures to the collection is her influence as a shining example: a pioneer in the field of art collecting and philanthropy in Switzerland, she was surely an inspiration for many later Basel benefactors.

The exhibition is documented in the following languages: D

Next exhibition(s)

Luminous Figures. Drawings and Stained Glass Paintings from Holbein to Ringler

01.02.2020 - 26.04.2020

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In the sixteenth century, small-format stained glass paintings graced the windows of many a guild room and council hall. The exhibition organised by the Department of Prints and Drawings showcases numerous preliminary drawings as well as finished glass paintings.

The exhibition is documented in the following languages: D

Picasso, Chagall, Jawlensky. Masterworks of the Im Obersteg Collection

22.02.2020 - 24.05.2020

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Showing treasures of classic modernism from an eminent private collection in Basel in dialogue with works from our own holdings, the exhibition sheds light on the history of the collection and Karl Im Obersteg's longstanding ties to the Kunstmuseum Basel.

The exhibition is documented in the following languages: D

Kara Walker, Drawings 1993-2020. A Black Hole is Everything a Star Longs to Be

16.05.2020 - 23.08.2020

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The brilliant and provocative African-American artist Kara Walker (b. 1969) presents drawings from the past twenty-seven years that have never been on public display

The exhibition is documented in the following languages: D

The incredible world of photography. Ruth and Peter Herzog Collection

13.06.2020 - 27.09.2020

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A portrait of the unique collection of photographs built by Ruth and Peter Herzog, the exhibition unfurls an «encyclopedia of life» to open up unexpected perpectives on the history of photography from its early days to the 1970s.

The exhibition is documented in the following languages: D

Charmion von Wiegand. Coloring Modernism

12.09.2020 - 10.01.2021

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The New York-based artist Charmion von Wiegand (1896-1983) found inspiration in leftwing art criticism, abstract painting, and the Study of Far Eastern visual symbolism.

The exhibition is documented in the following languages: D

Rembrandt. Etchings from the second Kornfeld donation

17.10.2020 - 17.01.2021

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The exhibition honors the renowned Berne-based auctioneer and collector Eberhard W. Kornfeld, who will give thirty-one etchings by Rembrandt to the museum. The works are shown together with another set of Rembrandts he donated to the museum in 2005.

The exhibition is documented in the following languages: D

Rembrandt's Orient. West Meets East in Dutch Art of the 17th Century

31.10.2020 - 14.02.2021

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The Dutch were cosmopolitans even in the seventeenth century: the exhibition conveys the fascination that the Orient – seen through the prisms of works of art, objects of utility, and individuals – held for Rembrandt and his contemporaries

The exhibition is documented in the following languages: D