SUMMARY
Swiss National Museum, Zurich
09.11.2007 - 24.03.2008
MARIA MAGDALENA MAURITIUS
Dealing with saints
The valuable collection of Mediaeval wooden sculpture
The Swiss National Museum possesses some 400 individual figures and 15 retables, an outstanding collection of Mediaeval wooden sculpture. Now, fully 70 years after it was first published, the catalogue has been re-issued in a new, updated version, including the more recent additions to the collection and benefiting from the latest findings in the fields of art and cultural history, the natural sciences and technology.
New collection catalogue
Together with the publication of the new catalogue, “Wooden Sculpture of the Middle Ages”, the National Museum in Zurich has mounted a special exhibition, affording its visitors a vivid glimpse at the role of saints and Biblical figures in the Mediaeval world.
Special exhibition
The special exhibition poses a range of questions. What was the significance to the Mediaeval ecclesiastical calendar of altar groups, or of scenes featuring individual figures, such as the entry of Christ into Jerusalem? What did people hope to obtain from the saints or helpers in time of need they venerated as patrons of their city or country? How can we be certain today which saint a particular sculpture was meant to represent? Why do most of the sculptures and altarpieces in the National Museum come from the cantons of Graubünden and Valais, as well as from the Swiss interior?
The oldest sculpture of Saint Mary in the collection, a Romanesque Madonna, owes her preservation to the pious treatment she received at the hands of the faithful, who buried her, along with human remains in the ossuary of the town of Raron in the canton of Valais, when her particular style was no longer in fashion.
The citizens of Zurich and Bern, meanwhile, among other places, had a rather different way with their saints: during the so-called iconoclasm of the Reformation, holy figures were burnt or destroyed. The exhibition provides answers to questions such as these and brings contemporary circumstances to life with original objects from the Middle Ages, thus allowing the National Museum in Zurich to address a renewed interest on the part of the general public in the powerful effect of Mediaeval sacred sculpture, one that transcended confessional and perhaps even religious differences.
Shop
Articles associated with the exhibition are available in our Museum Shop: books and maps, handcarved wooden figures, candles and products from the «Hildegard von Bingen» line, cakes and many other attractive items. The shop is open from 10.15 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.
Opening hours
Tuesday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Thursday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Open on public holidays
Admission
Adults: CHF 10.–/red. CHF 8.–
Children and young people up to age 16 free
Includes admission to the permanent exhibition
Guided tours for the public
On Thursdays at 6 p.m.
(except 27 December 2007 and 3 January 2008)
CHF 10.–/red. CHF 8.–
Children and young people up to age 16 free
Guided tours for families
On the following Sundays, at 3 p.m.:
11 and 25 November,
2, 9, 16 and 23 December 2007,
6., 13., 20. and 27 January,
3 February,
2, 9 and 16 March 2008
CHF 15.– per family, including snack
Also from 27 to 30 December, at 5 p.m.
CHF 10.–/red. CHF 8.–
Children and young people up to age 16 free
Guided tours for groups and schools
With advance notice to phone +41 (0)44 218 65 04
or to E-mail myriam.kunz@slm.admin.ch
Tours can also be arranged outside normal opening hours.
Special offers for schools
Workshops adapted to age of pupils, in collaboration with schule&kultur (Education Office)
Details from and applications to www.schuleundkultur.ch;
info@schuleundkultur.ch or phone +41 (0)43 322 24 44.
Free dossier to help teachers in preparing lessons can be ordered from: myriam.kunz@slm.admin.ch
City guided tours (in German only)
«Nachtbuben entführen ein heiliges Stück –
Eine Stadtführung auf den Spuren des Palmesels»
On the following Fridays in 2008, from 6.30 to 7.30 p.m.:
11, 18 and 25 January,
1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 February,
7 and 14 March.
Meeting point in front of the Swiss National Museum, no advance booking necessary.
CHF 15.–/red. CHF 10.–
Zurich Adult Education Centre (in German only)
Lecture series: «Maria, Sai Baba, Lady Di - Leben mit Heiligen»
on Mondays, 5 November to 3 December 2007, 7.30 to 8.45 p.m., University of Zurich, Course no. 0355-01, CHF 115.–
Einzeleintritte à CHF 25.– an der Abendkasse, Uni Zürich Zentrum
Workshop visit «Heilige restaurieren - Werkstatt- und Laborbesuch» on 15 December 2007 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, Affoltern a. A., Course no. 0355-02, CHF 35.–
Enrolment: www.vhszh.ch
Heilige restaurieren -
Werkstatt- und Laborbesuch
Begleitveranstaltung zur Ringvorlesung:
Maria, Sai Baba, Lady Di - Leben mit Heiligen
- Download PDF-file
Swiss National Museum
Museumstrasse 2
8001 Zurich
Phone +41 (0)44 218 65 11
E-mail kanzlei@slm.admin.ch
www.landesmuseum.ch
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