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We are in charge of the press
relations in France for the exhibition Konrad Witz for the
Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland
Konrad Witz is one of the most radical innovators
in the art of painting of the first half of the fifteenth
century. He arrives in Basel in 1434, probably attracted by
the international atmosphere created by the ecumenical council
of the Christian Church that is held in the city in those
years. By 1447 he must have died. During this brief period
of little more than a decade he creates a series of grand
altarpieces, of which only individual panels survive. These
paintings evince a powerful new interest in the outside world
as perceived in immediate experience. The significance given
to light and shadow, to reflections, to the spatial depth
of architectures and landscapes attests to Witz’s familiarity
with contemporary Flemish painting.
The exhibition aims to unite the extant monuments of Konrad
Witz’s art created by his own hands such as the famous
‘Mirror of Salvation-Altarpiece’ for St. Leonard’s
in Basel. More than eighty exhibits, including many loans
also from the fields of the graphic arts, wall and glass painting,
moreover illustrate the influence Witz exerted on his contemporaries.
To this end the traditional art-historical approach has been
complemented by a thorough technological analysis of the paintings
that produce fascinating insights into workshop practices
of the time.
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