Sammlung Rosengart

The Sammlung Rosengart is a museum of classical modern art at Pilatusstrasse 10 in Lucerne, Switzerland, close to the railway station. It is based on the private collection assembled by the Lucerne art dealer Siegfried Rosengart and his daughter Angela Rosengart, who knew many of the leading artists of the 20th century. The collection was opened to the public in 2002 in a former bank building, which was converted for museum use. It holds about 300 works, with Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee at its core. The Picasso holdings span several decades, including paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures, and include portraits of Dora Maar and works from the late period. The Klee holdings cover his work from the 1900s to the 1930s. The collection also includes paintings by Monet, Cézanne, Renoir, Miró, Kandinsky, Chagall, Braque, Matisse, Modigliani and Léger, offering a survey of the major developments from Impressionism to modernism. A separate section on the lower level, the Picasso Studio, displays portrait photographs of the artist by David Douglas Duncan, giving a glimpse of his working life. The curatorial approach is a personal collector's presentation rather than a strict chronology, with works grouped by artist and periods hung in rooms that follow the story of the Rosengart family's friendships with the artists. The building has been restored and adapted, with a layout that keeps the viewing intimate. The museum is open daily, with longer hours from April to October. Because the collection is compact, it can be seen in an hour or two, making it a good choice for a rainy day or as a contrast to the historic sites of the Old Town.