Art enthusiasts have a wide variety of museums and inspiring houses of art from which to choose for creative culture in Switzerland
Switzerland’s brilliant landscape and snow-capped Alps are so stunning that visitors to this beautiful country are reticent to spend too much time indoors. Lovers of fine art, though, will find Switzerland’s many museums and houses of art offer an incredible array of indoor allure. From classic and contemporary art to astounding photographs and sculptures, surround yourself with culture in Switzerland.
Houses of Art for Captivating Culture in Switzerland
CENTRE FOR PHOTOGRAPHY
See the world through a creative lens in this impressive museum. Founded in 1993, the Centre for Photography in Winterthur is dedicated to chronicling photography as an art form. Consisting of the Fotomuseum Winterthur and Fotostiftung Schweiz, the Centre for Photography ranks among the best art museums in Switzerland. The two independent institutions each have a different aim in the jointly-run center. The Fotostiftung Schweiz focuses on Swiss photography from its beginnings to the present with a particular emphasis on Swiss photography from the 20th century. The Winterthur Museum of Photography examines contemporary photography in the context of individual works by acclaimed photographers.
FONDATION BEYELER
A magnificent house of art in Riehen/Basel is lovely both inside and out. The aesthetically pleasing Fondation Beyeler building is located in an English landscape park that features impressive views. Aged trees, a water lily pond and a pavilion overlooking cornfields, vineyards and the foothills of the Black Forest paint a natural picture. Inside the museum, guests can savor the 250 masterpieces of Hildy and Ernst Beyeler, who were renowned as perhaps Europe’s pre-eminent dealers in modern art.
Superb modern and contemporary art, thrilling architecture and an idyllic natural setting combine to give the Fondation Beyeler its unique appeal. The high-quality programme of exhibitions enjoys an outstanding international reputation. Copyright by: Switzerland Tourism – By-Line: ST/swiss-image.ch/Stephan Schacher
The museum houses works from artists such as Marlene Dumas, a contemporary South African artist and painter; Gerhard Richter, a German visual artist who produced abstract and photorealistic paintings; and Ferdinand Hodler, one of the best-known Swiss painters of the 19th century. Presentations are accompanied by a calendar of readings, talks and guided tours offering authentic culture in Switzerland.
KUNSTHAUS ZURICH
Located in Zurich, the Kunsthaus Zurich houses some of the most important art collections in Switzerland. This collection spans from the Middle Ages to contemporary art, with an emphasis on Swiss art. These include major works by Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and Alberto Giacometti along with a host of other Swiss artists. Leading representatives of the Expressionist movement along with a meaningful collection of Classic Modernism is a must-visit. With some 19,000 members, its patron association, the Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft, is one of the largest of its kind in Europe.
KUNSTMUSEUM BASEL
Housing the largest and most significant public art collection in Switzerland, Kunstmuseum Basel was dubbed the fifth best museum on the planet in 2013 by the London Times. The house of art, which is made up of three buildings, encompasses more than 100,000 square feet.
One of the most impressive masterpieces in the Kunstmuseum: The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1522. Culture in Switzerland at inspiring houses of art.
The original museum, finished in 1936, contains pieces ranging from the 15th century to 1950. This includes the largest collection of works by the Holbein family, an influential German family of artists in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Other pieces on display include paintings from Vincent van Gogh and Switzerland’s Arnold Bocklin and Ferdinand Hodler.
MAMCO
In 1994, Geneva’s modern art museum was opened in a 1950s factory building. Containing large windows, huge rooms and expansive floors, this house of art offers a spacious home for numerous collections. Since it opened, the museum has staged 450 exhibitions with works dating from the 1960s to the present day.
MAMCO’s opening re-invigorated a cultural district in the now gallery-filled and trendy Quartier des Bains neighborhood. One of the premier events in the neighborhood is the Nuit des Bains (“baths night,” a name that stems from the fact public baths used to take place there). The event is held three times per year bringing people culture in Switzerland. During this event, the arts district is transformed into a large gallery and attracts thousands of people each night.
MASI LUGANO – MUSEO D’ARTE DELLA SVIZZERA ITALIANA
Founded in 2015, MASI Lugano is one of the most visited houses of art in Switzerland. Born from the union between the Cantonal Art Museum and the Art Museum of the City of Lugano, the merger brought together the two institutes. In its two locations – at the LAC cultural center and the Palazzo Reali – it offers a rich exhibition program with temporary exhibitions and new collections. MASI is equipped with an artistic heritage of more than 14,000 works. They cover a historical period ranging from the end of the 15th century to the present day.
MUSÉE DE L’ELYSÉE
The internationally renowned Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne is one of the world’s leading museums dedicated to photography. Established in 1985, the museum aims to improve the public’s understanding of photography through innovative exhibitions, key publications and engrossing events.
The internationally renowned Musee de l’Elysee is one of Europe’s leading museums devoted entirely to photography. The building that houses it is exceptionally photogenic: an 18th-century villa with views of Lake Geneva.
Copyright by: Musee de l’Elysee – By-Line: Musee de l’Elysee/swiss-image.ch/Cecilia Suarez
This house of art hosts a one-of-a-kind collection of more than one million phototypes. In fact, collections from Charlie Chaplin, Ella Maillart, a Swiss adventurer and photographer, and Nicolas Bouvier, a Swiss traveler, writer and photographer are on display. In addition to indoor exhibits, the building that houses the museum is exceptionally photogenic: an 18th-century villa with views of Lake Geneva.
MUSEUM FÜR GESTALTUNG ZURICH
Switzerland’s foremost museum of design and visual communication is the Museum für Gestaltung Zurich. It contains an acclaimed collection comprising more than half a million objects from the history of design. Founded in 1875, the museum reaches a broad national and international audience at its two sites in Zurich and through touring exhibitions. It features four collections: Poster, Design, Graphics and Applied Art, which encompass more than 500,000 objects.
Museum für Gestaltung, Ausstellungsstrasse, Zuerich is one of the premier houses of art for culture in Switzerland.
The newly refurbished main building of the museum is located just a few minutes’ walk from Zurich’s main train station. In fact, it is a sublime example of Swiss modernist architecture. The new Swiss Design Lounge invites visitors to relax and experience contemporary Swiss furniture while sampling goods from the museum cafe.
MUSEUM TINGUELY
Located directly on the Rhine River is the Museum Tinguely in Basel. This house of art is home to the world’s largest collection of art by Jean Tinguely, a Swiss sculptor famous for his moving mechanical sculptures. Tinguely (1925-1991) is considered one of the most innovative and important Swiss artists of the 20th century. A variety of Tinguely’s kinetic art sculptures and interactive exhibitions are on permanent display. Additionally, they are complemented with illustrations, photographs and other documents related to the artist’s life and work. In fact, Tinguely’s wife, Niki de Saint Phalle, has donated 55 sculptures to the museum.
In addition, special exhibitions present the works of a variety of artists and subjects including Marcel Duchamp, a French-American painter and sculptor whose work was associated with Cubism and Dadaism; and Kurt Schwitters, a German artist who worked in several genres including Dadaism, Constructivism and Surrealism.
ZENTRUM PAUL KLEE
The iconic Zentrum Paul Klee in Bern, which opened in 2005, is dedicated to the life and work of Paul Klee (1879-1940). With around 4,000 pieces, the museum has the most significant collection of paintings and drawings from Klee’s work. Swiss-born, Klee is regarded as one of the 20th century’s most important artists. His individual style was influenced by movements in art that included Expressionism, Cubism and Surrealism. Designed by star Italian architect Renzo Piano and built on the outskirts of the capital city, the museum’s three curved hills and gently contoured lines blend into the surrounding rolling landscape. Enclosed by fields and a spacious park, the center provides an ideal area for walking.
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By Jason Paha
