Image: Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau
The Aargauer Kunsthaus in Aarau is presenting ‘Verwandtschaften. Sammlung 26’, a collection exhibition examining how artists portray themselves and people close to them. On view from 7 July to 8 November 2026, the presentation brings together self-portraits, family scenes and images of mothers, partners and other relatives, while also tracing connections between works across different periods, genres and techniques.
The museum describes the exhibition as a “visual family reunion.” Its central questions concern how artists represent their own identities and how they depict those around them. The relationships explored are not limited to literal family ties: works may be connected through formal similarities, recurring motifs or shared technical approaches. The resulting groupings are intended to include both harmonious and tense constellations.
The presentation spans works from the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Among the historical material are Caspar Wolf’s ‘Panorama des Grindelwaldtales mit Wetterhorn, Mettenberg und Eiger’, made around 1774, Albert Anker’s ‘Kinderbegräbnis’ from 1863 and Ferdinand Hodler’s ‘Die tote Valentine Godé-Darel mit Rosen’ from 1915. The selection also includes works by Paul Klee, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Cuno Amiet, Emil Nolde and Alberto Giacometti.
Portraiture and family representation recur throughout the display. The museum lists Hermann Scherer’s painted wooden sculpture ‘Mutter’ from 1924 alongside Doris Stauffer’s mixed-media work ‘Grossmutter’ from 1961 and Wilhelm Lehmbruck’s ‘Mutter und Kind’, dated to around 1917–18. Paul Camenisch’s 1928 painting ‘Das Brautpaar (Oblomow und Oljga)’ and Eduard Gubler’s ‘Bauernfamilie in der Stube’ from 1925 extend the theme from individual likenesses to couples and domestic groups.
The exhibition also includes more recent approaches to self-image and kinship. Listed works include Urs Lüthi’s ‘Selfportrait in Three Pieces’ from 1973–74, Balthasar Burkhard’s ‘Selbstbildnis’ from 1977, Monika Dillier’s ‘SUPERMUTTER’ from 1983–84 and Sabian Baumann’s ‘Selbstporträt’ from 2003. Further contemporary works include Fiona Tan’s installation ‘Vox Populi Switzerland’ from 2010, Augustin Rebetez’s installation ‘The Family’ from 2023 and Rivane Neuenschwander’s ‘The Name of Fear/Aarau (Magendarmgrippe/Atomkraftwerke)’, created in 2020.
A group of works by the Giacometti family makes familial and artistic relationships especially explicit. The selection features Alberto Giacometti’s ‘La cugina Ada’ from 1920–21, Augusto Giacometti’s ‘Frauenkopf (Bildnis meiner Tante Caterina)’ from 1912, and two paintings by Giovanni Giacometti, ‘Mattina d’estate (Sommermorgen)’ and ‘Sera d’autunno’, both made around 1903. Other programme dates listed by the museum include public tours, children’s activities and an event for visitors with visual impairments before the exhibition closes on 8 November.
