Oh, how I missed this amazing place without
realising it!
Once I decided, rather on a whim, to
go and see works in the museum I had not visited in so many years but for which I
held very positive memories thanks to my last foray all those years ago.
Aside from unexpectedly setting the
alarm off twice (first apparently for staring too closely at the back of a
Tinguely installation – it’s a white painted disaggregated metal sculpture fixed
to the wall with the complex mechanism behind it unplugged - yet visible if you
looked) and then another time on the second floor when I touched a flyer that I
thought was for public consideration. The museum security sauntered in to see
who had dared cause this disquiet. I pretended not to have anything to do with
it. A truly bewildering experience if you ask me.
As I wandered the halls and rooms of
the ground floor, I started to wonder what exactly I had liked so much about
this place. Well, I soon discovered what it was about this place that made it
worth visiting again and again.
I started off with the works by
Stoecklin who had a special exhibition – like a mini- retrospective – of his
works on display. The whole thing was explained in German so of course I cannot
offer a descriptive of what the exhibition was about or why it was being held
now.
Upon reflection, I don’t think a museum
is the place artists go to die – this being a quote made famous by an artist
whose name escapes me.
I think it is a place where they go
to be reborn, their genius remembered, visible up close and personal. Looking at
the work of most of these artists is like living and breathing the same air as
them, even for a fraction of a second. It is as though you are with them from
the conception of their artwork to the final brushstroke, following them as
would their assistant, their shadow. You can feel their energy, their almost palpable
push or patient musing over the canvas, as though you are invited into their atelier
to ponder with them every single thrust and quibble of the brush or palette
knife.
Paul Klee:
I discovered more works by this artist I would normally ignore. Ignore is
probably harsh. I have however been known not to linger over his work, rather
walking past without stopping. Not this time though. I found myself pausing,
studying for an inordinately long time his abstract painting – the one with hundreds
of tiny dots over fragmented squares and triangles.
His canvases, I realise, have more
depth and a careful thought than I ever before gave them credit for. This is
evident in the formulation of his pieces. It makes me want to visit his museum
in Berne.
-
http://www.zpk.org/en/index.html
Niklaus
Stoecklin’s “Das Wilde Madchen” was
a pleasant surprise. The bright blue background and the odd, rather savage
female figure is an unorthodox choice. He’s the first artist I have ever seen
who has been able to convey layers of depth in his foreground - be it matt or
glossy. He knew how to create luminous texture in his paintings seemingly without
trying. His layering is complex and the paintings never look flat. It is not
surprising to discover he learnt modern graphic style of art in Munich and was
very interested in posters.
Born to Swiss parents, Stoecklin hailed
from Basel and trained as an artist from a young age. He earned a living
designing posters. He died in 1982.
Hodler:
one of my all-time favourite artists!! It was good to see his self-portrait in
which it looks like he’s a man who did not take himself too seriously when he
didn’t have to. His are paintings filled with matt colours which never look
flat or dull. I of course marvelled at the detailing in his work, the final
defining dark brush marks which turn the painting into something that is almost
an illustration drawing. Bravo Hodler, bravo!
Picasso’s
The Two brothers - 1906 – the pink
large nude. One of the boys is on the cusp of adolescence while the other will
not be a toddler for much longer - is an affectionate and kind piece, not least
because of the choice of dusky rose as the predominant colour.
The “Seated Harlequin (Portrait of Painter Jacinto Salvado) 1923” is beautiful
– of course it is one of Picasso’s best works. It is gentle, mature,
sophisticated and achieved with soft pastel colours, without jarring with the
outlined detailing. All this was achieved using a tempura on canvas technique.
Holbein:
I didn’t realise there was a Hans Holbein the Elder (Portrait of Jorg Fischer’s Wife at the age of 34) and a Hans
Holbein the Younger (Lais of Corinth and
Adam and Eve). Both are amazing
artists in their own particular style and disposition. Though they do manage to
reflect a certain over-seriousness in their subjects. You can tell portraiture
was taken very, very seriously back then.
Bocklin’s
Naiads at Play – 1886 is interesting.
Aside from the size (151 x 176.5 cm) and depth of detail, it is all the more
amazing because it is tempura on canvas. Just think of the hours spent mixing
the egg yolk in with the pigment, painting, redefining and painting again.
I did not see the Piet Mondrian or
the Ed Ruscha exhibitions and I don’t regret it as there was so much to see on
the other floors and I am not a particularly ardent fan of either of those two.
Another surprise for me was the
Soutine pieces on the second floor. The dead-carcass-skin-artist showed he had
other styles and (shock!) was classically trained.
I thoroughly enjoyed Van Gogh’s cityscape View of Paris seen from Montmarte – 1886
as well as other landscape paintings in the same room though their names and
painters escape me right now – one was of a view of a village painted in bold
horizontal strokes of bright primary colours – Meuniers? Should have taken notes.
Segantini
was a delight as ever though they only had one of his paintings; At the watering place – 1888. It has
this outdoorsy, almost folkloric style and is of course filled with cows, grass
and farm life euphoria. The painting is not the one I saw but it gives some idea of his style of art.
Giovanni Segantini is a Swiss artist
whose brushstrokes are unlike any other artists, thin, sharp and deliberate. They
convey vibrancy, life and lush depth seemingly without much effort. His paintings
– at least the ones I have seen, are never flat or boring.
Apparently, he has a museum
dedicated to his works in St. Moritz. I would love to visit but St. Moritz is
far and won’t be going yonder to ski so…
In any case, the Kunstmuseum Basel
is a hallowed repository for great international artists. Their works seem to
vibrate off their wall with energy and a synergy unlike anywhere else. Here the
examples of the big names sit side by side as though in a permanent conversation
with each other. From Miro, Gaugin, Kandinsky and Leger to Picasso, Monet,
Degas and Manet, to Jasper Johns and Dali, there is something on each floor
that is bound to delight the soul. I am so glad I came.
