Freunde des Kunstmuseums Basel

The Kunstmuseum Basel is considered one of the world's most important museums of fine art and houses the largest public art collection in Switzerland. Under the legal umbrella of the Öffentliche Kunstsammlung Basel (Public Art Collection Basel), it brings together works from seven centuries, ranging from the Old Masters to contemporary art. The foundation of the collection is the so-called Amerbach Cabinet, a private collection that the city of Basel acquired in 1661. This makes the museum one of the oldest publicly accessible art collections in Europe owned by a municipality. Its holdings include roughly four thousand paintings, sculptures, installations, and videos, as well as an immense number of drawings and prints.

A particular highlight of the collection is the world's largest concentration of works by the Holbein family, some of which can be traced back to the Basel collector Basilius Amerbach. The importance of the Basel-born Symbolist Arnold Böcklin is also strongly emphasized here, as the museum owns the largest collection of his works. Among them are iconic paintings such as the first version of Isle of the Dead, Battle of the Centaurs, and The Plague. The Old Masters are represented by names such as Hans Holbein the Younger, Konrad Witz, Martin Schongauer, Rubens, and Rembrandt. A large section is also devoted to seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish painting.

Modern and contemporary art is also comprehensively represented at the museum. You can admire Impressionist works by Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, and Claude Monet. Expressionism, Constructivism, Dadaism, and Surrealism are likewise on display, with key figures such as Edvard Munch, Piet Mondrian, Salvador Dalí, and Max Ernst. A special treasure is the group of works by Pablo Picasso, which came into the collection through a remarkable citizens' initiative and a gift from the artist himself. Picasso was so moved by the support of Basel's residents in acquiring two of his paintings that he gave the city four more works, including a preparatory drawing for Les Demoiselles d'Avignon.

Beyond painting, the museum houses a significant Kupferstichkabinett (department of prints and drawings), which, with more than three hundred thousand drawings, watercolors, and prints, is the largest publicly accessible collection of its kind in Switzerland. Here you can see drawings by Albrecht Dürer and Paul Cézanne, among others, as well as bodies of work by contemporary artists such as Joseph Beuys, Andy Warhol, and Jasper Johns. The offering is complemented by a publicly accessible specialist library, located in the former building of the Swiss National Bank, which also serves as the library of the University of Basel's art history department.

The museum's architecture is spread across three sites. The neoclassical main building on St. Alban-Graben was built between 1931 and 1936 by Paul Bonatz and Rudolf Christ. In the courtyard of this building stands Auguste Rodin's famous sculpture group The Burghers of Calais, one of the sculptor's most important works. An extension that opened in 2016 and is connected to the main building underground is used primarily for special exhibitions and collection displays. The new building was financed through a public-private partnership, with the art patron Maja Oeri making a substantial contribution.

The third site is the Kunstmuseum Basel Gegenwart, located on St. Alban-Rheinweg and opened in 1980. It is the oldest European museum devoted exclusively to contemporary art. Alongside changing exhibitions, it also features permanent installations, including one by Joseph Beuys on the upper floor. The museum regularly organizes large international exhibitions that bring together works from around the world, such as a comprehensive show on Van Gogh's landscapes or a presentation of Cubist works. The canton of Basel-Stadt is currently planning to close the main building for renovation starting in mid-2027, during which time the collection is to be presented in a condensed route through the new building and the Gegenwart building.