Ottilie W. Roederstein

While some museums are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Apollo’s usual weekly pick of exhibitions will include shows at institutions that are currently open as well as digital projects providing virtual access to art and culture.

Thanks to the easing of Covid restrictions in Switzerland, the Kunsthaus Zürich is reopening on 2 March, bringing a second chance to explore the work of Ottilie W. Roederstein. Exceptionally successful in her lifetime, the Swiss artist was largely forgotten after her death in 1937. She spent much of her early career painting portraits and still lifes – conventional subjects for a professional female painter – but from the 1890s began to absorb a range of modernist influences, from Impressionism to Symbolism, that brought her international acclaim in the early 20th century. With some 75 works, this first Swiss survey in more than 80 years retraces her career (until 5 April). Find out more from the Kunsthaus Zürich’s website. 

Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary here

Portrait of an African Man (c. 1887–89), Ottilie W. Roederstein. Photo: © Horst Ziegenfusz

The Victor (1898), Ottilie W. Roederstein. Photo: © Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main

The Three Ages (1900), Ottilie W. Roederstein. Photo: © Antje Zeis-Loi, Medienzentrum, Wuppertal

Self-portrait with Brushes (1917), Ottilie W. Roederstein. Kunsthaus Zürich