The Inner Sound of Art

Wilhelm Wartmann was the first Director of the Kunsthaus Zürich and managed its fortunes for forty years between 1909 and 1949. During this period, he opened the museum to international and contemporary art and drove the development of its unique collection of modern art. Throughout his career, he managed to construct a Europe-wide network of relationships with art enthusiasts, collectors, art historians and artists such as Edvard Munch, Ferdinand Hodler, Oskar Kokoschka and many others. He followed their artistic development with great empathy, seeking out the inner sound of their works. In doing so, he layed the foundation for the Kunsthaus Zürich’s significance and worldwide fame today. He is rightly considered one of the most influential museum directors in Switzerland. Which other museum director has been portrayed by Edvard Munch und was friends with Oskar Kokoschka. With the book The Inner Sound of Art: Wilhelm Wartmann and the Kunsthaus Zürich, art historian Iris Bruderer-Oswald PhD presents the first scholarly biography of Wilhelm Wartmann. She opens a new chapter in Zurich’s cultural history, one that radiates far into the European art world.