Image series 07 / 2025: Glaciers as a Motif
Landscape Painting
Ice fields made of compacted old snow from previous years, which persist all year round, have fascinated artists for centuries. The glaciers of the world have become a popular motif in landscape painting due to their apparent eternity and sublimity. Today, they also provide valuable contemporary evidence for research.
With millions of glacier images and the help of artificial intelligence, the artist Refik Anadol brings the world of glaciers to life in the museum. A cube with LED screens and mirrors has been installed for this purpose, designed as a sculpture from the outside and as an endless space from the inside.
„Refik Anadol: Glacier Dreams“
18 January 2025 until at least mid-2026, Kunsthaus Zürich
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E. Handmann. Der Untere Gletscher auf den Schopffelsen endend, Ausschnitt, um 1748/1749; Digitale Diathek, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Institut für Kunstgeschichte
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John Robert Cozens. Entre Chamonix et Martigny : L’Aiguille verte, Ausschnitt, 1776, paperwatercolourdessin au crayon noir, 440 × 610 mm, Paris; RMN Musée Du Louvre, Réunion des musées nationaux
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Caspar Wolf. Unterer Grindelwaldgletscher mit Lütschine und Mettenburg, Ausschnitt, 1778/1782, Öl auf Leinwand, 53,5 × 81 cm, Winterthur; ArteMIS, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Kunsthistorisches Institut
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John Gully. Franz Josef Glacier [the peak of Mount Cook with glacier and moraine], Ausschnitt, 1819-1888, 49,8 × 72 cm, Auckland; ConedaKOR Frankfurt, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, Kunstgeschichtliches Institut
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Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld. Das Tal von Chamonix mit dem Mont Blanc, Ausschnitt, 1848, Öl auf Holz, 24 × 42 cm, Wien; HeidICON – Europäische Kunstgeschichte, Ruprecht-Karl-Universität Heidelberg, Universitätsbibliothek
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John Brett. Gletscher von Rosenlaui, Ausschnitt, 1856, Öl auf Leinwand, 44,5 × 41,9 cm, London; IKARE, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle, Institut für Kunstgeschichte und Archäologien Europas, Zentralbibliothek