Press orientation
Tuesday, 19 March 2024, 9.30 am or individual tour by appointment.

Kunst Museum Winterthur
Villa Flora
Tösstalstrasse 44
8400 Winterthur

The time has finally come: Villa Flora is opening its doors again. The legendary collector’s house shines in new splendour, allowing the treasures of the Hahnloser/Jaeggli Foundation to return to Winterthur. From 23 March 2024, the Kunst Museum Winterthur will be showing masterpieces by Cézanne, van Gogh, Manet, Redon, Bonnard, Monet, Vallotton, Matisse and others at its third location.

With the exhibition Bienvenue!, the Kunst Museum Winterthur is celebrating the long-awaited return of the famous collection of Hedy and Arthur Hahnloser-Bühler to the Villa Flora. The highlights of this culturally and historically significant collection will be on display, embedded in its historical surroundings: Villa Flora was acquired by the Canton of Zurich in 2018 and has been carefully restored in recent years, brought up to museum standards and extended with a delicate extension by Basel architects jessenvollenweider. A modern garden pavilion now welcomes visitors on a tour of the remarkable collector’s museum. The entire complex is now open to the public: the former residential wing will also become part of the museum and the idyllic garden will be made accessible to the public.

The collection of Hedy and Arthur Hahnloser and the Villa Flora form a unique ensemble in the Swiss museum landscape. As a young couple, they moved into the house at the beginning of the 20th century, which they remodelled in an extremely modern style for the time and furnished in an exemplary manner. They built up their art collection with great commitment and a sure instinct. In close personal dialogue with the artists, Hedy and Arthur Hahnloser created a pioneering collection of French modernism at the turn of the century of exceptional artistic quality. This made them pioneers in opening up art in Switzerland.

Hahnloser’s significance for the Kunst Museum Winterthur
The collection focuses on the pioneers of Modernism, French Post-Impressionism, the Nabis and the Fauves. The holdings range from Édouard Manet, Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne and Auguste Rodin to Pierre Bonnard, Félix Vallotton, Eduard Vuillard, Henri Matisse and Albert Marquet. Absolute masterpieces by these artists found their way into the collection early on and were donated by their descendants to the Hahnloser/Jaeggli Foundation, which has placed them on permanent loan to the Kunst Museum Winterthur.

Hedy and Arthur Hahnloser were not only active as collectors, they were also involved in Winterthur’s cultural life. For example, Arthur Hahnloser was on the board of the Winterthur Art Association for many years. Together, the couple donated numerous paintings from their own collection to the museum and, together with patron friends, initiated the collection’s important focus on French modernism. The Kunst Museum Winterthur | Beim Stadthaus thus houses numerous donations from Hedy and Arthur Hahnloser and, together with the permanent loans from the Hahnloser/Jaeggli Foundation, provides a valid insight into French art at the turn of the century.

Milestone in the realisation of the city’s museum concept
The reopening ceremony marks another milestone in the implementation of the city’s museum concept. This transferred the operation of the museums at the Stadthaus, the Stadtgarten and the Villa Flora to the Kunstverein Winterthur. This strategy lays the foundation for sustainable financing of the Villa Flora. It also enables the exchange of the perfectly complementary collections and the development of first-class exhibitions from the museum’s own holdings. “Il faut vivre son temps”: Following Hedy Hahnloser’s famous statement, the Villa Flora will not only showcase the masterpieces of the former Hahnloser Collection, but will also host contemporary exhibitions. For example, the artist Marcel van Eeden (*1965), who commutes between The Hague, Karlsruhe and Zurich, will dedicate his exhibition The Villa to the spirit of Villa Flora from September 2023.

Opulent illustrated book from the Baroque to the present day
The Kunst Museum Winterthur is also celebrating the significant art-historical expansion with an opulent illustrated book on its rich art collection, which spans the period from the Baroque to the present day. The publication also honours the patronage of numerous private collectors and art lovers such as Oskar Reinhart, Jakob Briner and Hedy and Arthur Hahnloser. It is thanks to them – their great commitment to art and their tireless efforts to promote it – that Winterthur developed into a centre for French modernism and is now a museum city with unique art treasures.