Sylvie Wuhrmann, Corinne CurratHans Emmenegger : 1866-1940

“Catalogue of the exhibition presented at the Fondation de l’Hermitage, from 25 June to 31 October 2021, which documents a major retrospective of the Lucerne painter Hans Emmenegger (1866-1940), of great originality, both in the choice of subjects and in the boldness of his compositions.

Through a hundred or so paintings, the exhibition illustrates the painter’s admiration for Arnold Böcklin at the turn of the 20th century, and shows the aesthetic breakthrough that occurred around 1903 when he developed his own pictorial language, with powerfully modern themes such as melting snow, forest interiors, shadows, and reflections. His research on movement echoes the chronophotography of the Futurist painters. The book closes with some contemporary echoes. Contents: Hans Emmenegger, between light and shadow (by Sylvie Wuhrmann and Corinne Currat); Hans Emmenegger, the essence of the visible (by Corinne Currat); Hans Emmenegger’s recomposed past (by Aurélie Couvreur); Hans Emmenegger : lamp, moon and twilight (by Stefan Banz); Hans Emmenegger, or time dilated (by Didier Semin); Hans Emmenegger – new tracks (by Paul Hilber); The inventory of Hans Emmenegger’s canvases (by Karoline Beltinger); Contemporary looks: interviews with Stefan Banz, Albrecht Schnider, Caroline Bachmann, Michel Grillet, Nicolas Party…”