Chaïm Soutine. Against the Tide

Chaïm Soutine (1893–1943) captured in his works the atmosphere of an entire era. A generation marked by war, social grievances and the relentless conflict between religious and political world views. Soutine’s paintings are explosions of colour and, despite all the adverse circumstances, declarations of love for life and for people who are on the lowest rung of society, just like him. He painted pages, chambermaids, cooks, altar boys and choir boys as well as swaying landscapes and slaughtered animals. The people and motifs are deeply moving because their vulnerability gives expression to the existential fears of our current society. The exhibition is a collaboration between the Kunstmuseum Bern, K20, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek/Copenhagen. It concentrates on the artist’s early masterpieces and focuses on the series created between 1919 and 1925.