Rietberg Museum

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Rietberg Museum
Museum Rietberg & Villa Wesendonck 2011-08-15 16-20-26 ShiftN.jpg
Exterior view of Villa Wesendonck and Smaragd
Data
place Zurich-Enge
Art
Non-European art
opening May 24, 1952
Number of visitors (annually) 110,000
management
Annette Bhagwati
Website
Villa Wesendonck, the main building of the Rietberg Museum

The Rietberg Museum is a museum for art from Asia , Africa , America and Oceania in Zurich-Enge . It is the only art museum for non-European cultures in Switzerland , the third largest museum in Zurich and the largest museum operated by the city ​​of Zurich itself. It has around 110,000 visitors a year.

Location and building

Entrance to the new underground building Smaragd

The museum is located in the 67,000 square meter Rieter Park and consists of several historical buildings: the Villa Wesendonck , the Remise, the Villa Rieter and the Villa Schönberg . On February 17, 2007 the Smaragd extension by the architects Alfred Grazioli and Adolf Krischanitz was opened; this largely underground structure more than doubled the museum's exhibition space.

The Rieterpark is easily accessible by public transport: it is located near the Zurich Enge train station and can be reached via tram line 7 (Museum Rietberg) and bus lines 66 and 72 (Hügelstrasse) operated by the Zurich public transport company .

history

The Villa Wesendonck was built by Leonhard Zeugheer from 1853 to 1857

In 1945 the city of Zurich bought the Rieterpark and the Villa Wesendonck. In 1949, a referendum decided to convert the Villa Wesendonck (1951/52 by the architect Alfred Gradmann) into a museum in order to make the collection of Baron Eduard von der Heydt publicly accessible. The baron bequeathed his art collection to the city of Zurich and, with his understanding of an “ars una”, gave the museum its specialty. The concept of «ars una» regards artistic production as being of equal value regardless of its geographical origin. The Rietberg Museum was opened on May 24, 1952. It was headed by Johannes Itten until 1956 , then by Elsy Leuzinger (1956–1972), Eberhard Fischer (1973–1998), Albert Lutz (1998–2019) and Annette Bhagwati (from 2019).

In 1976 the city of Zurich bought the villa Schönberg, which was threatened with demolition and opened in 1978 as an extension of the Rietberg Museum. Today it houses the administration of the museum as well as an extensive reference library.

Since 2007 the new “Smaragd” building has provided exhibition space for large temporary exhibitions, part of the collection and the Schaulager.

collection

The collection includes works from Asia , Africa , America and Oceania as well as a section with Swiss masks. Around 80% of the collection are gifts from private individuals and collectors.

There are objects in the Schaulager that are not currently on display. It is freely accessible to visitors.  

Organization and financing

The museum is a service department of the Presidential Department of the City of Zurich. It has around a hundred employees (around 42 full-time positions; as of 2017). Almost half of the financing is provided by the city of Zurich, the other half is generated from operations as well as donations and sponsoring . The collection is expanded primarily through donations.

Artibus Asiae

Artibus Asiae is a biannual trade journal that is published in the Museum Rietberg and specializes in Asian architecture and art.

Exhibitions

A selection of the last exhibitions:

Illustrations

  • Exhibition room in the Villa Wesendonck

  • Shiva Nataraja, India, Chola dynasty, 10th century bronze

  • Exhibition room in the Villa Wesendonck

  • Museum café in the Villa Wesendonck

  • Staircase to the underground exhibition rooms of the new building

  • Objects in the Schaulager

  • Schaulager

  • Showroom in the new building

  • Showroom in the new building

  • Museum shop in the new building

  • Entrance area of ​​the new building (emerald)

  • Entrance area of ​​the Villa Wesendonck (left the Remise, right the Smaragd)

  • Park Villa Rieter

Movies

literature

Web links

Commons : Villa Wesendonck  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Media release «65 years of Rietberg»
  2. ^ Extension of the Rietberg Museum . Swiss Architects.
  3. ↑ List of sponsors (website of the Museum Rietberg)
  4. ↑ Annual report 2007, p. 23f.
  5. ^ Website Artibus Asiae

Coordinates: 47 ° 21 '32.1 "  N , 8 ° 31' 49"  E ; CH1903:  six hundred and eighty-two thousand four hundred and sixty-nine  /  245915