Something Else to See in Basel

UBS is the major underwriter of this massive van Gogh landscape show taking place in Basel this Summer:

Seventy landscapes, among them key works never seen by wide audiences, are presented in an ambitious show at Basel’s distinguished Kunstmuseum. It is billed as “Europe’s art event of the year.”

The exhibition “Vincent van Gogh Between Earth and Heaven” focuses for the first time exclusively on his landscapes, the most frequent motif in his work. Organizers expect more than half a million visitors before the exhibition ends Sept. 27.

Lenders include museums in the United States, Japan, Israel and seven European countries as well as several private collectors. Kunstmuseum director Bernhard Mendes Buergi, who is also one of the curators, said it was “quite extraordinary that they were permitted to travel to Basel.”

The combined insurance value of the works is given at more than $2 billion. Premiums and the cost of mounting the exhibition are certain to be correspondingly high.

It’s hard to imagine them taking on this kind of expense going forward. One has to wonder how the recession will effect the blockbuster museum show even as museum-going seems to be on the rise.

Swiss Show van Gogh’s Landscape’s in Major Exhibit (Associated Press)