Kunsthaus Zürich

The Kunsthaus Zürich houses an outstanding art collection that spans from the Middle Ages to contemporary art, with an emphasis on Swiss art.

The museum’s collection includes works by major artists including Claude Monet, Edvard Munch, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Édouard Manet, and Henri Matisse.

The Kunsthaus Zürich’s Modern Art Collection

The Kunsthaus Zürich holds one of the largest Munch collection outside of Norway. It has an extensive collection of Alberto Giacometti’s work and paintings by Monet, Picasso, Chagall, and Kokoschka.

The New York School is represented by works from Pollock, Rothko, and Newman. European and American artworks represent pop art.

The Kunsthaus Zürich’s Modern Art Collection includes video installations and photographs by Fischli/Weiss and Pipilotti Rist.

Visitors can enjoy a tour of art from the Middle Ages, right up to the 21st century.

Masterpieces at the Kunsthaus Zürich

“The Gates of Hell” by Auguste Rodin
“Self-portrait with Model” by Lovis Corinth
“Composition with Red Blue and Yellow” by Piet Mondrian
“La montagna Sainte-Victoire” by Paul Cézanne
“Le Palais Ducal vu de Saint-Georges Majeur” by Claude Monet

Kunsthaus Zürich Review

Less crowded than other museums in Europe.
One of Switzerland’s largest collections.
Extensive collections of work by Edvard Munch and Alberto Giacometti.
It takes about 3-4 hours to see all the works in the Permanents collection.
Multiple Exhibitions throughout the year.
The building is also impressive.
Audio guides are available.
A varied collection of artworks mixing old Masters with modern contemporary pieces.
Hosts some of the essential pieces of artwork in Art History.
The collections including pop art, modern, expressionist, impressionists, and the old master.
The collection includes rare sculptures by Cy Twombly.

Masterpieces at the Kunsthaus Zürich featured on “Joy of Museums”

“The Gates of Hell” by Auguste Rodin

The Gates of Hell is a sculptural group created by Auguste Rodin that depicts a scene from “The Inferno” from Dante Alighieri’s book the Divine Comedy.

The sculpture was commissioned in 1880, it became Rodin’s life work as he continued to work on and off on this project for 37 years, until his death in 1917.

One of the reasons Rodin took so long with this masterpiece, is that many of the original small-scale sculptures used on the Gate were enlarged and reworked and became stand-alone works of art of their own

“Self-portrait with Model” by Lovis Corinth

In “Self-portrait with Model” by Lovis Corinth, the artist is making a statement about his painting process and the subtle relationship between model and artist.

Corinth is showing us a painted model representing the artist, while an artist in the painting is likewise the model.

The female nude is facing the canvas as the artist himself would have done to paint it. Her right-hand flat on the “canvas” is touching it as the artist would have done, representing the artist’s own hand painting.

Yet on the left-hand side of this picture, the two are interwound to further highlight the complex relationship between the artist and his subject.

“Composition with Red Blue and Yellow” by Piet Mondrian

“Composition with Red Blue and Yellow” by Piet Mondrian is a well-known work of abstraction in which thick, black brushwork defines the borders of the different geometric figures.

The black brushwork is minimal but it is masterfully applied to become one of the defining features of the work.

This painting is a product of the Dutch, De Stijl movement, and Mondrian is regarded as the most prominent artist of the movement.

“La montagna Sainte-Victoire” by Paul Cézanne

“La montagna Sainte-Victoire” by Paul Cézanne is part of the “Mont Sainte-Victoire” series of paintings. Cézanne enjoyed a magnificent view of the soaring mountain from across the valley and painted many different versions..

Cézanne first painted Mont Sainte-Victoire in 1870, beginning his decades-long fascination with the subject.

Paul Cézanne created more than thirty paintings and watercolors of Mont Sainte-Victoire.

“Le Palais Ducal vu de Saint-Georges Majeur” by Claude Monet

“Le Palais Ducal vu de Saint-Georges Majeur” by Claude Monet depicts the Venician leader’s palace, bathed in warm light. The Impressionist work is painted with dappled brushstrokes in a bright palette of pinks, yellows, and blues.

The composition is divided into two horizontal zones. The upper part depicts the pink and white Venetian Gothic palace and the blue sky above. The lower part is filled with the Venetian lagoon’s rippling waters and the reflection of the buildings.

The palace facade is composed of diamond-patterned stonework of the walls, which are pierced by arched windows. The colonnaded arcades on the lower two floors create the darker shadowing.

The Lion of Venice column in the Piazzetta di San Marco is shown to the left, and Ponte della Paglia and the New Prison building to the right.

Monet painted the Doge’s Palace from several viewpoints during his three-month stay in Venice, from October to December 1908.

Name: Kunsthaus Zürich
City: Zürich
Country: Swiss Confederation
0pened: 1910
Location: Kunsthaus Zürich, Heimplatz 1, CH–8001 Zurich

Map of the Kunsthaus Zürich

Visiting Tips for the Kunsthaus Zürich

Check the availability of Ticket discount on the admission price with SBB Train Ticket
Opening hours:
- Tuesday, Friday to Sunday 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
- Wednesday and Thursday 10 a.m.–8 p.m.
- Check Museum Website for Public holidays and changes to operating hours.
- Free Entry Option on Wednesdays. The free entry does not apply to special exhibitions.