From the 17th century to today · Winterthur, patronage, impressionism and contemporary art

Driven by industrial tradition and patronage from Winterthur, the museum connects old masters, romanticism, impressionism, modernity, Arte Povera and contemporary creation on three sites.

The Kunst Museum Winterthur developed through the civic tradition of an industrial and commercial city where collectors, entrepreneurs and foundations have sustainably supported the arts. Its current identity brings together several stories and three locations: Beim Stadthaus, Reinhart am Stadtgarten and Villa Flora. The collection spans the 17th century to the present day in coherent ensembles rather than a simple succession of masterpieces. Dutch masters from the Jakob Briner Foundation and the miniatures from the Briner and Kern collections open the route. The Oskar Reinhart Foundation provides German, Austrian and Swiss paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as a collection remarkable graphic. The Hahnloser and Jaeggli ensembles give a major place to French impressionism and post-impressionism. Classical modernity then leads to post-war art, minimalism, postminimalism, Arte Povera and contemporary creation. The four works selected show the breadth of this gaze. Monet transforms white and yellow water lilies into surface rhythms. Van Gogh makes the setting sun and a flower meadow two opposing experiences of the landscape, one fiery, the other vibrant. Delacroix gives a woman from Algiers accompanied by a greyhound a presence where costume, color and gaze construct a complex image of the dream Orient in the 19th century. This diversity reflects a museum formed by successive private collections, each retaining its accent while participating in a common narrative. The "Kunst Museum Winterthur" selection notably compares Water Lilies whites and yellows and Wheat field at sunset. Its reading favors light.

In Winterthur, patronage produced not a uniform collection but a constellation of ensembles whose differences make art history more readable.