Agenda

The French artist Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was also a great sculptor. The exhibition examines his sculptural work through the prism of the creative process and transformation and focuses on the artistic method Matisse brought to bear in almost all his principal sculptures: starting out from a seemingly naturalistic approach, his figures progressed through increasing degrees of abstraction that culminated in radical stylization. As if by metamorphosis, his bronzes are transformed from a natural to an abstract form. There are parallels with this process in his paintings and drawings, and the exhibition explores the relationship between them for the first time. More than 70 works from all over the world, accompanied by reproductions of historical photographs, films and music, offer a vivid presentation of Matisseʼs artistic method. Various sources of his inspiration – nude photographs, originals from African art and Antiquity –complete the presentation.

The exhibition presents the life of Carthusians through paintings by Augustin Pasquier (1967) and tells the story of an unknown world with surprising encounters. This mysterious universe of the Order of Carthusians invites us to reflect on our way of life, beliefs and relationship with the world around us. In the modern world, this voyage of discovery offers a moment of reflection, research and a new perspective, and the paintings depict this world.

Wilhelm Leibl (1844-1900) is one of the most important representatives of realism in Europe, admired by his contemporaries Gustave Courbet (1819-1877), influenced by Edward Manet (1832-1883) and respected by Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890). He mainly painted portraits and interiors with rural figures. Through regular participation in international exhibitions in Vienna, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Budapest, Basel, Winterthur, Zurich, New York and Washington, he was regarded as as one of the leading European realists.