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‘In Focus’ exhibition:
An exhibition at the Oskar Reinhart Collection ‘Am Römerholz’ in Winterthur examined the relationship between one of its most remarkable paintings, a panel created c. 1495 showing The Adoration of the Kings, and Geertgen tot Sint Jans (c. 1465–c. 1490/95), the first great painter of the northern Netherlands. In particular, it compares the Winterthur picture with other versions of this subject by Geertgen held in different museums. This juxtaposition shed new light not only on the interrelationships between the individual Adorations, but also on the entire creative work of the artist and his followers.
The exhibition was complemented by documentation relating to the restoration of the Winterthur panel, undertaken by Bruno Heimberg at the Doerner Institut of the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen (Bavarian State Painting Collections) in Munich. It was only by revealing the original painting, hidden beneath several layers of painting, that it became possible to make a connection between the painting and the work of Geertgen tot Sint Jans. Two acknowledged authorities on early Netherlandish painting, Dr Stephan Kemperdick and Dr Jochen Sander, undertook this task. Previously some scholars had attributed the Römerholz panel to Geertgen, while others had disagreed. Such controversy is fairly standard in the case of medieval works, as their creators can rarely be identified precisely on the basis of a signature or through documents from the period. The exhibition looked into this fascinating subject. The historical and artistic links uncovered in the process suggested that the Winterthur Adoration should be attributed to a follower of Geertgen. As a result, both the work of the master himself and the creative efforts of subsequent generations of painters emerged more clearly.
With Geertgen tot Sint Jans and the Adoration of the Kings, the Oskar Reinhart Collection continued the series of exhibitions it had started in 2005 with Manet Meets Manet. This involves presenting the public with new research findings relating to a work in our own collection, so opening up new perspectives for specialists on the one hand and amateur art lovers on the other.
An exhibition catalogue, published by Hirmer Verlag, Munich, is available in English and German.
See detailed press notice at www.roemerholz.ch/geertgen
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Geertgen tot Sint Jans (c. 1465–c. 1490/95) |
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Geertgen tot Sint Jans |
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Geertgen tot Sint Jans |
Follower of Geertgen tot Sint Jans |
The first series of Sound paintings and word pictures took place from 2004 to 2005; a second series followed in 2007. On the first Wednesday of the month, the museum invited distinguished writers from Switzerland and neighbouring countries to read out a previously commissioned, literary piece about a selected key work in the Oskar Reinhart Collection. The readings took place in the great hall of the picture gallery in front of the original work concerned. The subsequent public discussions moderated by literary critic and journalist Hardy Ruoss gave the audience the chance to talk to the writers and ask about their motivation and methods of working.
Programme of literary evenings held in 2007:
• 7 February: Felix Ingold on Claude Monet’s The Break-up of Ice on the Seine, 1880–81
• 7 March: Michel Mettler on Vincent van Gogh’s Ward in the Hospital at Arles, 1889
• 4 April: Matthias Zschokke on Gustave Courbet’s The Hammock, 1844
• 6 June: Erica Pedretti on Lucas Cranach the Elder’s Marriage Diptych of Dr Johannes Cuspinian and Anna Putsch, 1502
• 4 July: Sabine Naef on Lucas Cranach the Elder’s Marriage Diptych of Dr Johannes Cuspinian and Anna Putsch, 1502
• 5 September: Zsuzsanna Gahse on Jean-Siméon Chardin’s Still Life with Basket of Peaches, White Grapes, a Pear and Nuts, 1758
• 3 October: Said on Jan Provost’s The Resurrection of Christ, c. 1465–1529
• 7 November: Ingo Schulze on Eugène Delacroix’s Tasso in the Madhouse, 1839
• 5 December: Gerhard Roth on Vincent van Gogh’s Courtyard of the Hospital at Arles, 1889
• 10 December: ‘Dilettantism or Vision. Should Writers Write about Art?’ Panel discussion (in German) with invited panellists, chaired by Gabriela Christen. At the Literaturhaus, Zurich.
It is planned to publish the texts in book form, as a follow-up volume to the one already published for the first series that took place from 2004 to 2005. The series is expected to resume in 2010, after work on the museum is finished.
