Bern exhibition reunites Kirchner paintings after 92 years

Bern exhibition reunites pair of Kirchner paintings after 92 years Keystone-SDA

The painting Sonntag der Bergbauern (Alpsonntag) [Sunday of the Mountain Farmers (Alp Sunday)] by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938) is being transferred from Berlin to Bern to feature in an upcoming exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Bern.

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The huge work by the German expressionist painter and printmaker, which has hung in the German Chancellery since the mid-1970s, will be shown together with its counterpart, Alpsonntag. Szene am Brunnen (Alp Sunday. Scene at the Fountain), in Bern.

The fact that Sonntag der Bergbauern is now coming to Bern was agreed with the Federal Chancellery in Berlin and approved by the head of the Chancellery. Following the start of its journey, the painting will only arrive in Bern around a week before the start of the exhibition, the Kunstmuseum Bern told the Keystone-SDA news agency.

The two paintings were first shown together in 1933. At that time, they opened the most extensive Kirchner retrospective in the artist’s lifetime at the Bern Kunsthalle. Kirchner himself curated the exhibition and wrote the catalogue.

The pair of paintings are important works by the German expressionist. They will hang in the Kunstmuseum’s Kirchner x Kirchner exhibition from September 12 to January 11, 2026.

Translated from French with DeepL/sb

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