The Rietberg Museum is a museum in
Zürich
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Zürich ...
, Switzerland, displaying Asian, African, American and Oceanian art. It is the only art museum focusing on non-European art and design in Switzerland, the third-largest museum in Zürich, and the largest to be run by the city itself. In 2007, it received approximately 157,000 visitors.
Location and buildings
The Rietberg Museum is situated in the
Rieterpark in central Zürich, on the western shores of the
Lake Zurich
__NOTOC__
Lake Zurich (Swiss German/ Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used to ...
, and consists of several historic buildings: the Wesendonck Villa, the Remise (or "Depot"), the Rieter Park-Villa, and the Schönberg Villa. In 2007 a new building, designed by Alfred Grazioli and
Adolf Krischanitz
Adolf Krischanitz (born May 26, 1946) is an Austrian-born architect.
Biography
Krischanitz was born in Schwarzach im Pongau, Salzburg (state), Salzburg, Austria. He studied architecture at the Vienna University of Technology from 1965 to 1972.
...
, was opened – the addition of this largely subterranean building, known as "Smaragd", more than doubled the museum's exhibition space.
[Museum Rietberg in Zürich]
Hubertus Adam, ''Bauwelt'' 17, 2007.
The Rieterpark is located near
Zürich Enge railway station, and can also be reached by tram line #7 and bus line #33.
History
In the early 1940s, the city of Zürich purchased the Rieterpark and the Wesendonck Villa. In 1949, the villa was selected, by referendum, to be rebuilt into a museum for the art collection of
Baron von der Heydt which he had donated to the city in 1945.
This was carried out in 1951-52 under the architect Alfred Gradmann. The Rietberg Museum was opened on 24 May 1952.
Johannes Itten
Johannes Itten (11 November 1888 – 25 March 1967) was a Swiss expressionist painter, designer, teacher, writer and theorist associated with the Bauhaus (''Staatliches Bauhaus'') school. Together with German-American painter Lyonel Feining ...
, the Swiss
expressionist
Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...
painter, was director of the museum until 1956.
In 1976, the city acquired the Schönberg Villa, which had been threatened with demolition, and opened it in 1978 as an extension of the museum. Today, the villa is also home to an extensive non-lending library administrated by the museum.
Organisation and funding
The Rietberg Museum is operated by the presidential department of the city of Zürich. In 2007, it employed around one hundred people. About half of the funding comes from the city, while the other half is raised through revenue, sponsors, and donations. Additions to the collection come mostly from donations.
Publishing activities
The museum established an in-house press shortly after its founding in 1952. Initially, it published catalogues of the museum's Asian and African artworks, as well as occasional short
monographs. The museum's publishing activity has increased since 1985, in connection with the large special exhibitions that it has organised since then, and it now publishes around five new titles per year.
List of publications by the Rietberg Museum's press
Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek.
Since 1991, the museum also publishes ''Artibus Asiae
''Artibus Asiae'' is a biannual academic journal specialising in the arts and archaeology of Asia. Along with the '' Ostasiatische Zeitschrift'' (founded in 1912) it was one of the most successful journals in its field in the German-speaking part o ...
'', a biannual scholarly journal on the arts and archaeology of Asia.
Sculpture
File:Museum Rietberg 01.jpg, Exhibition room in the Wesendonck Villa
File:Museum Rietberg 02.jpg, Exhibition room in the Wesendonck Villa
File:Museum Rietberg 06.jpg, In the Depot
File:Figurenpaar Ägypten Museum Rietberg RAG 1.jpg, pair of figures, Egypt, Fifth Dynasty
The Fifth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty V) is often combined with Dynasties III, IV and VI under the group title the Old Kingdom. The Fifth Dynasty pharaohs reigned for approximately 150 years, from the early 25th century BC until ...
, c. 2400 BCE
File:Wei Votivstele Museum Rietberg.jpg, Votive stele with Buddha Shakyamuni
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism.
According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...
, China, Eastern Wei Dynasty, c. 536 CE
File:Fudo Myoo Museum Rietberg RJP 21.jpg, Acala, king of the mystical knowledge; Japan, Fujiwara clan
was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since the ancient times and dominated the imperial court until ...
, 12th century
File:Shiva Nataraja Museum Rietberg RVI 501.jpg, Shiva Nataraja, Chola dynasty
The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE ...
, 12th century
File:Thirthankara Suparshvanath Museum Rietberg RVI 306.jpg, Idol of Suparśvanātha
Suparshvanatha ( sa, सुपार्श्वनाथ ), also known as Suparśva, was the seventh Jain '' Tīrthankara'' of the present age ('' avasarpini''). He was born to King Pratistha and Queen ''Prithvi'' at Varanasi on 12 Jestha Sh ...
, the 7th Jain
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...
Tīrthankara, India, 14th century
File:Benin Stosszahn Museum Rietberg RAF 607 img02.jpg, Carved elephant tusk, Benin Empire, Nigeria, 17-18th Century
File:Abbaga Daraka and Koti or Chennaya Museum Rietberg 2008-51-52.jpg, Abbaga Daraka Idol
Painting
File:3 Master of the Devasano Pado. A Monk is Greeted at the Gate of the Coronation Hall Folio from a Kalpasutra Manuscript. ca. 1475. Museum Rietberg, Zurich.jpg, ''A Monk is Greeted at the Gate of the Coronation Hall''. Folio from a Kalpasutra Manuscript. India, ca. 1475.
File:Shokei Nansen zanbyo 1495 RJP 438 detail.jpg, ''Nanquan Puyuan
Nanquan Puyuan ( Chinese: 南泉普願; Wade-Giles: Nan-ch’üan P’u-yüan; Pinyin: Nánquán Pǔyuàn; Japanese: Nansen Fugan; Korean: 남천보원 Nam-cheon Bo-won) (c. 749 – c. 835) was a Chán (Zen) Buddhist master in China during the T ...
kills a cat'' by Shōkei Kenkō. Japan, 1495
File:5 Masters of the Dispersed Bhagavata Purana. Krishna and Balarama Taking the Cattle to Graze Folio from a Bhagavata Purana Manuscript 1520-40. Museum Rietberg, Zurich.jpg, ''Krishna and Balarama Taking the Cattle to Graze''. Folio from a Bhagavata Purana
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in S ...
Manuscript. India, 1520-40
File:Giv battling Tur.jpg, upright=1.1, ''Giv battling Tur''. Miniature by Siyavush Beg from the Shahnameh
The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50 ...
of Shah Ismail II. Qazvin
Qazvin (; fa, قزوین, , also Romanization, Romanized as ''Qazvīn'', ''Qazwin'', ''Kazvin'', ''Kasvin'', ''Caspin'', ''Casbin'', ''Casbeen'', or ''Ghazvin'') is the largest city and capital of the Qazvin Province, Province of Qazvin in Iran. ...
, 1576-77.
File:Vishwamitra brings Rama and Lakshmana to his hermitage.jpg, ''Vishwamitra brings Rama and Lakshmana to his hermitage''. Folio from the Mughal Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
. India, c. 1594
File:8 Nasiruddin. Varati Ragini folio from the Chawand Ragamala series, Chawand, Rajasthan, 1605, Museum Rietberg, Zurich.jpg, ''Varati Ragini'', folio from the Chawand Ragamala series by Nasiruddin. Mewar, 1605
File:Shepherds and nobles welcome a mounted prince and princess.jpg, ''Shepherds and nobles welcome a mounted prince and princess''. Attributed to Muhammad Qasem. Isfahan, ca. 1648
File:The Devi Rides in State.jpg, ''The Devi Rides in State''. Folio from a Devi series attributed to Kripal of Nurpur. Nurpur, c. 1670
File:Gong Xian. Thousand peaks and ten thousand valleys. Museum Rietberg.(mounting).jpg, ''Thousand peaks and ten thousand valleys'' by Gong Xian. China, c. 1670
File:Raga Madhava, Folio from the Ragamala series.jpg, ''Raga Madhava'', by the 2nd Master of the Shangri Ramayana series. Probably Bahu, c. 1720
File:Varaha and Hiranyaksha.jpg, ''Varaha and Hiranyaksha''. Folio from a Bhagavata Purana Series by Manaku of Guler. Guler, c. 1740
File:Raja Balwant Singh of Jasrota examining a painting with Nainsukh.jpg, ''Raja Balwant Singh of Jasrota examining a painting with Nainsukh'' by Nainsukh
Nainsukh (literally "Joy of the Eyes"; c. 1710 – 1778) was an Indian painter. He was the younger son of the painter Pandit Seu and, like his older brother Manaku of Guler, was an important practitioner of Pahari painting, and has been c ...
. Jasrota, 1745-1750
File:Ragini Madhumadhavi - Girl flees from a storm.jpg, ''Ragini Madhumadhavi'', by Jay Krishna. Malpura
Malpura is a town with municipality in Tonk district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Malpura is known for its Dadabadi, built by the Khartargach Sect of Shewtambar Jain in memory of 3rd Dada Gurudev Shri Jinkushalsurishwarji.Malpura is popular ...
, c. 1756
File:Re-Enacting Krishna's marvellous Deeds, Folio from the Bhagavata Purana series.jpg, ''Re-Enacting Krishna's marvellous Deeds'', Folio from the Bhagavata Purana series ascribed to a Master of the first generation after Manaku and Nainsukh
Nainsukh (literally "Joy of the Eyes"; c. 1710 – 1778) was an Indian painter. He was the younger son of the painter Pandit Seu and, like his older brother Manaku of Guler, was an important practitioner of Pahari painting, and has been c ...
. India, c. 1780-1785
References
External links
Rietberg Museum website
3D Google Earth model of museum complex
{{Authority control
Art museums and galleries in Zurich
Anthropology museums
African art museums
Asian art museums in Switzerland
Mesoamerican art museums
Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Zürich
Art museums established in 1952
1952 establishments in Switzerland