Julius Voegtli: A Swiss Impressionist Pioneer in Hainan Museum
as part of the grand exhibition ALL RIVERS FLOW TO THE SEA at Hainan Tanka Museum in China Opening Ceremony: 22 September 2023, 10 AMDuration: 22 September 2023 – 22 November 2023 In the vast tableau of Impressionist art, while some names gleam brightly, others, equally deserving, have often been relegated to the periphery. Among […]
Portrait of a Spahi in Uniform
From an artistic and social point of view, this painting is undoubtedly a masterpiece by Julius Voegtli. Only very few European artists of his epoch succeeded in creating such a convincing, poignant, and politically impactful portrait of an African soldier. It is a “document of humanity,” an eloquent testimony against racism, colonialism, and war. The […]
Woman in a Traditional Dress
The picture shows a bust-length portrait, done in watercolor, of a younger woman wearing what is the traditional regional folk costume of Bern – the Bernertracht or the Berner Sonntagstracht. Like many human characters drawn by Voegtli, she is looking directly at the viewer while her hair is partially covered with a black veil. In […]
Nude of Anna Voegtli
This watercolor painting depicts the nude figure of the artist’s wife, Anna. She is seated in profile on a bed draped in white cloth. She is leaning on her left arm and her face is turned away from the viewer; only her ear, neck, and pulledback dark hair are visible. The artist uses blue, yellow, […]
Saadi’s Bostan translated from Persian by Friedrich Rückert
Saadi’s Bostan, translated from Persian to German by Friedrich Rückert, has been published in a new edition by Wallstein Verlag. This translation, which is also known as “Duftgarten,” is one of the most beloved Persian works of literature and has been popular in Iran for centuries. The Bostan (Būstān) is a moralistic and anecdotal poem […]
Liberty Leading the People
“Liberty Leading the People” (French: “La Liberté guidant le people”) is a masterpiece painting that captured the essence of the French Revolution, which was a defining moment in European history. The painting is an allegory that depicts the symbolic figure of Liberty leading a group of people, with a French flag in her hand, in […]
Anna Voegtli with a Black Bow
Woodall’s (1997) view in her introduction to Portraiture: Facing the Subject can be applied to Julius Voegtli as well: Physiognomic interpretation was predicated upon a “symptomatic” relationship between external appearance and an invisible, internal self which was the ultimate subject of interest. The work of Courbet, Manet and the Impressionists interrogates this presumed identification between […]
Ticino Girl
“The Girl from Ticino” is a small-format masterpiece painted with a striking empathy. On her back, the young woman is carrying an empty wicker basket, with which she carries the harvested hay from the alpine pastures to the farm in the valley. Undoubtedly, this is hard work, especially for a slender woman, but she does […]
Unveiling the Beauty of Manichaean Art: Zsuzsanna Gulácsi’s Book and Its Persian Translation
Manichaeism was founded by Mani (216–274 AD) at the beginning of the Sasanian Empire (224–651 AD) and quickly spread from the Roman Empire to China. Mani believed that he was the Paraclete whose manifestation was heralded by Jesus Christ. Accordingly, he revealed the truth and instructed his disciples to write it down so that people […]
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
Kaspar Hauser – “The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser” is a powerful film, exploring a variety of social, political, and philosophical issues. At its core, the story of a young man, Kaspar Hauser, who is found wandering the streets of Nuremberg in 1828, speaks to the struggles of those who are marginalized by society and often […]