Kunstmuseum Basel

Q: What are the most famous paintings at Kunstmuseum Basel?

Arnold Böcklin's Isle of the Dead (1880) is iconic. Gauguin's When Will You Marry? and Holbein's portraits are also here. The collection spans from medieval panels to contemporary.

Q: What makes the Kunstmuseum Basel historically important?

It's the world's first publicly accessible art collection, dating to 1661 when Basel purchased the Amerbach Cabinet. Hans Holbein the Younger spent years in Basel, and the museum holds his most important early works.

Q: What art movements are covered?

Strong in Renaissance painting (Holbein, Cranach), 19th-century Symbolism (Böcklin), and 20th-century modernism. Delaunay's Eiffel Tower and Cubist works fill the modern galleries.

Q: Where is the museum?

On St. Alban-Graben in Basel's old town, near the Rhine. The main building dates from 1936. A new extension opened in 2016 across the street, connected underground. Böcklin's paintings are in the 19th-century galleries of the main building.

Q: What's the Böcklin collection like?

Arnold Böcklin lived in Basel and the museum holds multiple versions of his work. Isle of the Dead (one of five versions he painted) is the most haunting. His Symbolist landscapes influenced Surrealism decades later.

Basel, Switzerland

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Visitor Information

Museum Address

St. Alban-Graben 16, 4051 Basel, Switzerland

Basel, Switzerland

Ticket Prices

CHF 25 (under 13 free)

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Featured Artists

11 artists in database

1Hans Holbein the Younger12 works 2Arnold Böcklin2 works 3Robert Delaunay2 works 4Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres1 work 5Hans Memling1 work

The Kunstmuseum Basel holds the distinction of being the world's oldest public art collection, dating to 1661 when citizens purchased the Amerbach Cabinet to keep it from leaving the city. Amsterdam dealers had offered to buy this remarkable collection of Renaissance art, but Basel's citizens and university matched the price. At the heart of the cabinet lay fifteen paintings by Hans Holbein the Younger, who had lived in Basel and befriended the humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam. Today the museum holds the world's largest collection of Holbein's work.

The current building on Schaumainkai opened in 1936, with a major underground extension for contemporary art added in 2012. Holbein's Dead Christ in the Tomb, with its unflinching depiction of a decaying corpse, remains the collection's most arresting work. Arnold Böcklin's moody symbolist paintings, Robert Delaunay's vibrant Orphism, and Hans Memling's Netherlandish portraits represent the collection's range across 700 years. The Kupferstichkabinett houses over 300,000 drawings and prints. Unlike royal collections that became public museums, Basel's collection belonged to its citizens from the start.

Visiting Kunstmuseum Basel

Arnold Böcklin's Isle of the Dead (1880) is iconic. Gauguin's When Will You Marry? and Holbein's portraits are also here. The collection spans from medieval panels to contemporary.

It's the world's first publicly accessible art collection, dating to 1661 when Basel purchased the Amerbach Cabinet. Hans Holbein the Younger spent years in Basel, and the museum holds his most important early works.

Strong in Renaissance painting (Holbein, Cranach), 19th-century Symbolism (Böcklin), and 20th-century modernism. Delaunay's Eiffel Tower and Cubist works fill the modern galleries.

On St. Alban-Graben in Basel's old town, near the Rhine. The main building dates from 1936. A new extension opened in 2016 across the street, connected underground. Böcklin's paintings are in the 19th-century galleries of the main building.

Arnold Böcklin lived in Basel and the museum holds multiple versions of his work. Isle of the Dead (one of five versions he painted) is the most haunting. His Symbolist landscapes influenced Surrealism decades later.

Other Museums in Basel

Rudolph Staechelin Family Foundation, Basel

1 artworks

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Please note: Artwork locations and display status may change. Some paintings may be on loan, in restoration, or moved to different galleries within the museum. We recommend contacting Kunstmuseum Basel directly to confirm specific artwork availability before your visit.

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