THE NIESEN -
A Mountain Reflected in the Visual Arts

To mark its 50th anniversary, the Kunstmuseum Thun is dedicating an exhibition to one of the most striking mountains in the Bernese Alps: the Niesen. From September 24 to November 8, 1998, a special exhibition will showcase a wealth of depictions of the Niesen from the past three centuries—ranging from oil paintings, etchings, engravings, and drawings to photographs and installations

With its austere pyramidal shape, the “Niesen”—located on the left side of Lake Thun in the Bernese Oberland—has always held great appeal for painters and poets. A multitude of works from the past centuries attest to this. Not only local and regional artists, but also internationally renowned artists have immortalized this mountain in their oeuvre. It is evident that several fortunate coincidences underpin this project. In addition to the unique natural backdrop of the Bernese Oberland region and the remarkable geometry of the Niesen, the convenient transportation links are also a reason for the development of the mountain’s special reputation: While members of high society initially chose the route through the Aare Valley and over the Simplon Pass on their Grand Tour to the sunny south, they were soon followed by Northern European artists on their way to Italy for classical training. Finally, when examining the visual history of the Niesen, one must not overlook the skill and foresight of the people who spurred the resulting local souvenir industry. M. Wochers’ panorama in Basel, diaphanramas such as those F.N. König sent on tour, and the painting schools that emerged around Lake Thun, where countless vedute were produced for commercial purposes, are examples of this. On display are depictions of the Niesen ranging from the late 18th century to contemporary artists of the late 20th century. The Niesen evolved as a source of inspiration for the visual arts, transforming from a mere backdrop to a focal point, from a decorative element to a protagonist. The exhibition begins with the Swiss Minor Masters (Ludwig Aberli, Caspar Wolf, Gabriel Lory, and others) and artists who, as passing tourists, captured this mountain and its surroundings in their works.

In the 19th century, as the Alps were already attracting a larger international audience, the demand for souvenirs in the form of engravings, etchings, and original paintings grew steadily, and so the “Niesen” also came more into the spotlight of artistic production. Works by Alexandre Calame, Ferdinand Hodler, his teacher Ferdinand Sommer, and Cuno Amiet, as well as by the French artist Henri Rousseau and the English artists William Turner, William Bartlett, and Edward Compton, bear witness to this development. Toward the end of the century, the young Paul Klee captured views of the “Niesen” on several occasions. He continued to explore it artistically later on as well, as in the 1937 painting “Niesen Landscape.” With the advent of Modernism, the naturalistic-realistic image of the Niesen—which had until then been based on the original—underwent a transformation. For the members of the Blue Rider and their circle, for instance, a new approach to color and forms derived from geometry took center stage as compositional elements.

We are thus familiar with works of art-historical significance depicting the Niesen by August Macke as well as Johannes Itten—artists who provided important impetus to modernism. The exhibition is rounded out by contemporary interpretations of the “Niesen” theme. These include works by artists such as Samuel Buri, Jean-Frederic Schnyder, Gottfried Tritten, Cécile Wick, and others. Some of them even dedicated entire series to the “Niesen,” creating works in various materials. The mountain is presented using a wide range of techniques, from hand drawings and various printmaking methods—such as outline etching and aquatint—to gouaches, watercolors, oil paintings, and more recently in installations, photography, and objects. In each case, the individual visual interpretation is of particular interest. The Niesen is not always the focal point, yet it is always present in the image in a distinctive, defining way due to its striking form.

Participating artists include, among many others: Johann Ludwig Aberli, Cuno Amiet, William Henry Bartlett, Auguste Baud-Bovy, Johann Jakob Biedermann, Samuel Birmann, Samuel Buri, Paul Bütikofer, Etienne Clare, Eduard Davinet, Mathias Gottfried Eichler, Engel Werner, Bendicht Friedli, Eduard Geiger, Alfred Glaus, Paul Gmünder, Samuel Grimm, Fritz Hänni, Christian Helmle, David Herrliberger, Ferdinand Hodler, Fritz Hopf, Thomas Hostettler, Eduard Imhof, Sue Irion, Johannes Itten, Knut Jacobsen, Hans Jegerlehner, Paul Klee, Franz Niklaus König, Sabina Kulicka, Simon Daniel Lafond, Arthur Loosli, Gabriel (father and son) Lory, August Macke, Otto Morach, Ernst Morgenthaler, Rudolf Mumprecht, Alfred Heinrich Pellegrini, Heinrich Rieter, Robert Schär, Jean-Frederic Schnyder, Marc Siegrist, Ferdinand Sommer, Niklaus Sprüngli, Fred Staufer, Victor Surbek, Hans-Ulrich Theilkäs, Gottfried Tritten, Roman and Mario Tschabold, Charles Tschan, J. M. William Turner, Willi Waber, Jakob Samuel Weibel, Cécile Wick, Marquard Wocher, Caspar Wolf, Hans Zaugg-Herzig, Fritz Zbinden, Ulrich Zürcher.