HomeThe collectionPrivate CollectionsCollection Merzbacher

Collection Merzbacher

A celebration of colour from the 19th to the 21st century! Works by Monet, Sisley, Matisse and Kandinsky. Picasso's Blue Period. 'Fauves', 'Brücke', 'Blaue Reiter'. Futurists and Constructivists. Bridget Riley, Alexander Calder, Pipilotti Rist and many more.

Merzbacher_A739413.jpg
Merzbacher_A739419.jpg
Merzbacher_A739416.jpg
_candrian _DSC2746-Candrianmit menschen
Contentbild_970x970_Portrait_Merzbacher.png
Werner Merzbacher, 2019, Photo © Salvatore Vinci

The Kunsthaus mourns the loss of Werner Merzbacher

It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to our dear friend, patron and passionate art collector Werner Merzbacher.

Werner Merzbacher leaves behind one of the most important collections of modern art. His collection reflects not only his boundless enthusiasm for art, but also his ability to experience it as a liberating ‘feast of colour’ and to share it with others. The collection on permanent loan to the Kunsthaus Zürich includes masterpieces of Fauvism, Expressionism and works by artists of the ‘Blauer Reiter’ movement.

We are immensely grateful that Werner and his wife Gabriele have entrusted the Kunsthaus with this extraordinary collection, which, together with the enchanting installation by Pipilotti Rist, touches the hearts and minds of our visitors. His legacy is a gift that brings joy, touches and inspires anew every day. The collaboration with Werner Merzbacher was a great enrichment and always a source of inspiration. We will never forget him as a generous supporter, loyal friend and passionate art lover.

Despite the incomprehensible loss of his parents, who were murdered by the National Socialists, and the early death of his brother Rolf, Werner Merzbacher retained an astonishing zest for life and hope. His generosity and passion for art not only characterised his own life, but also inspired people all over the world.

In deep gratitude and loving memory,

The Director Ann Demeester and all Kunsthaus Zürich team
The President Dr Philipp Hildebrand and the Board of the Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft
The President Gitti Hug and the Board of Zürcher Kunstfreunde

SliderSmall_QF_kandinsky.png
Wassily Kandinsky, Murnau – Kohlgruberstrasse, 1908, Werner and Gabriele Merzbacher Collection, long-term loan at the Kunsthaus Zürich
SliderSmall_HF_merzb_picasso.png
Pablo Picasso, Le couple (Les Misérables), 1904, Werner and Gabriele Merzbacher Collection, long-term loan at the Kunsthaus Zürich © Succession Picasso / 2019 ProLitteris, Zurich
Pipilotti-Rist-Pixelwald-Turicum.jpeg
Pixelforest Turicum, 2021, Werner and Gabriele Merzbacher Collection, long-term loan at the Kunsthaus Zürich
SliderSmall_QF_derain.png
André Derain, Bâteaux dans le Port de Collioure, 1905, Werner and Gabriele Merzbacher Collection, long-term loan at the Kunsthaus Zürich © 2019 ProLitteris, Zurich
SliderSmall_HF_merzb_beckmann.png
Max Beckmann, Frau mit Schlange (Schlangenbeschwörerin), 1940, Werner and Gabriele Merzbacher Collection, long-term loan at the Kunsthaus Zürich © 2019 ProLitteris, Zurich
SliderSmall_QF_matisse.png
Henri Matisse, Intérieur à Collioure (La Sieste), 1905, Werner and Gabriele Merzbacher Collection, long-term loan at the Kunsthaus Zürich © Succession Henri Matisse / 2019 ProLitteris, Zurich
SliderSmall_HF_merzb_modigliani.png
Amedeo Modigliani, Jeanne Hébuterne assise, 1918, Werner and Gabriele Merzbacher Collection, long-term loan at the Kunsthaus Zürich
SliderSmall_QF_nolde.png
Emil Nolde, Sonnenblumen, 1930–1935, Werner and Gabriele Merzbacher Collection, long-term loan at the Kunsthaus Zürich © Stiftung Seebüll, Ada und Emil Nolde, Neukirchen
SliderSmall_HF_merzb_leger.png
Fernand Léger, Les deux disques dans la ville, 1919, Werner and Gabriele Merzbacher Collection, long-term loan at the Kunsthaus Zürich © 2019 ProLitteris, Zurich

Exclusive group of Modern Paintings

The cooperation, which involves 65 paintings and a minimum commitment of 20 years, is a chance for Werner Merzbacher to share his passion for art with the public at large. The Kunsthaus Zürich has been given the opportunity to view almost 200 paintings and sculptures and select the works that best complement its own important holdings.

Gabrielle and Werner Merzbacher also acquired the work Turicum Pixelwald (2021) by Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist as a contemporary extension of their collection. This piece continues the fundamental concept of "color" that underpins the collection and translates it into a spatially immersive experience.

The artists represented include leading figures from the key European art movements of the 20th century: Impressionism (Monet, Cézanne, Renoir), Post-Impressionism (van Gogh, Picasso), Fauvism (Derain, Matisse, Vlaminck, Braque), the ‘Brücke’ (Heckel and Kirchner), Germans persecuted in the Third Reich such as Nolde, Barlach and Beckmann, ‘Blauer Reiter’ members Jawlensky, Kandinsky and Münter, Italian Futurists (Severini, Boccioni), Russian Constructivists (Malevich, Goncharova and others), the Cubist Léger and Spanish artist Miró. Among the more recent artists of the 1950s to 1990s are Richard Paul Lohse and Sam Francis as well as Calder, González, Tinguely, Moore and Rickey.

The starting point of the collection is the exclusive group of exceptional works that Gabriele Merzbacher-Mayer inherited from her grandparents Bernhard and Auguste Mayer and that, since the 1960s, has been progressively enriched through further acquisitions of great art. Werner Merzbacher picks out those that touch him because, as he says, they resemble his own character. The selection that will be coming to the Kunsthaus therefore tells a dual story, of both art and a family.

floorplan_iphone_mockup_05.jpg

Where can I find the Collection Merzbacher?

With our digital visitor guide you can prepare for your tour and find your way around the museum.

To the visitor guide