Temporary exhibition

Opening: Sunday, 26 November 2017

The Bernhard Neher Collection / Oscar Neher Foundation Donation, which was presented to the Museum zu Allerheiligen in 2013 and was studied over the past two years, can now be presented to the public in an exhibition. The extensive collection of so-called minor Swiss masters from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries comprises drawings and prints of Swiss landscapes and genre scenes. There is also a collection of 160 books, albums, and travel guides.

The landscapes and costume paintings were the result of the rise of the traditional educational trip, the “grand tour,” on which artists reproduced their works in the original or as colored prints and sold them to travelers.

The exhibition takes visitors on a veritable voyage of discovery through Switzerland and shows the various regions with their natural wonders and sights. By bringing the visual techniques of the period between 1750 and 1850 back to life, we will change perspectives and immerse ourselves in a world that has largely disappeared—and yet is still alive in many respects. This includes Swiss legends and myths as they were invented and embellished by the emerging tourist industry.

The compositions in the drawings, watercolors, prints, as well as a number of paintings, presented in selected sequences and illustrating the various techniques and methods used by the artists, represent an important cultural heritage of Switzerland.

A catalog will be published by Hirmer in Munich. Academic lectures highlighting individual regions and topics are also planned.