LIECHTENSTEIN. Die Fürstlichen Sammlungen
The Princely Collections in Bern 2016
The treasures of one of the world’s most outstanding and splendid private collections are opening to the public in an exhibition that has hitherto not seen its equal in Switzerland. In a grand-scale presentation, the Kunstmuseum Bern is investigating the collection policy of the Princes of Liechtenstein over many centuries.
The exhibition opens up insights into an exceptional and illustrious world that has no equal in Switzerland. We have no equivalent of a “royal collection” here. Rather the nation’s cultural assets are distributed among various cantons and institutions, each pursuing its individual strategies of collecting. The Princely Collections comprise masterpieces of European art of exceptional quality spanning five centuries, and still today these holdings are being constantly augmented with new acquisitions.
The exhibition will be palpably illustrating a collecting history that goes back over four hundred years, a collecting history that is connected to changes in objectives, ownership issues, as well as in presentation concepts and sites. Our visitors will find on their tour of the show – as they proceed through the 18 rooms, each with a separate thematic focus – presentations addressing the individual collecting interests of the various princes, from the Gothic period through the Early Renaissance to the Baroque and Biedermeier periods. Among other major artworks, there will be paintings by Peter Paul Rubens of mythological subjects, interior scenes by Adriaen van Ostade, landscapes by Pieter Brueghel the Younger, religious subjects depicted by Jacques Jordaens and Anthony van Dyck, portraits by Raphael and Tintoretto, breathtaking tapestries, as well as small-format sculptures and handcrafted pieces.
The presentation at the Kunstmuseum Bern is spread over two levels of the museum’s space, providing a representative cross-section of the immense treasure of Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein, the ruling Prince of Liechtenstein. It covers the collections from their very beginnings through to the present.
The exhibition concept made it possible for us to present the collection items in a special environment. Individual works of art are highlighted and celebrate the cult of objects of beauty. At the same time, the character of this family dynasty’s unique collection remains intact in the themed exhibition rooms.
A joint effort together with LIECHTENSTEIN. The Princely Collections, Vaduz–Vienna
Curators: Matthias Frehner, Regula Berger and Rainer Lawicki (Kunstmuseum Bern)
Catalogue: Hirmer Verlag, Munich, hard-cover, c. 330 pages, 260 color plates
