Collection Oskar Reinhart: Am Romerholz

Since 1970, the Collection Oskar Reinhart in Winterthur, Switzerland has been open to the public. Made up primarily of painting, but including drawing and sculpture as well, it holds 209 works of European art from the late Gothic period to the dawn of early classic modernism. A selection of superb works by Old Masters, such as Hans Holbein, Grünewald, Lukas Cranach the Elder, Rubens, Poussin, El Greco, and Goya, is combined with a focus on 19th-century French painting, including significant pieces by David, Ingres, Géricault, Delacroix, Corot, Daumier, Courbet, Sisley, Pissarro, Manet, Monet, Renoir, and Cézanne, among others. One of the most spectacular and splendid private collections in Western Europe, it illustrates a particular understanding of Western art history on the brink of modernism.Winterthur-born businessman Oskar Reinhart (1885-1965) retired from his family-owned company Volkart Bros at the age of 40 to dedicate himself entirely to collecting. He settled on the mansion "Am Romerholz," built in 1915 by Maurice Turretini, for his residence. His collection of German painters was entrusted to the city of Winterthur and has been on display since 1951 at the Museum Oskar Reinhart. The vast remainder was bequeathed to the Swiss Confederation and is exhibited at Romerholz.This comprehensive catalogue features individual expert entries on each of the 209 works in the collection, often with comparative illustrations. Prefaced with a comprehensive history of the collection that illuminates Oskar Reinhart's tastes in art and the art-historical concepts underlying its conception, this books stands as a genuine monument to collecting as a cultural act. Hardcover, 11 x 13 in. / 712 pgs / 237 color and 251 duotones.