Discovered in a museum storeroom, a magnificent portrait of a horseman proves to be witness to a life straight out of an adventure novel: Fribourg mercenary leader Franz Peter König’s wild gallop through the Thirty Years’ War.

Created by French artist Raoul Dufy (1877-1953) for the Electricity Pavilion at the 1937 Paris World’s Fair, the monumental mural “La Fée électricité” is a celebration of technological progress.

Gottfried Keller’s most ardent desire was to become an artist and paint scenes of nature. In the end he did just that, but mostly in words.

It’s only thanks to the efforts of historian Maurice Jaenneret (1887-1961) that a magnificent section of wallpaper from a Jura farmhouse was saved from destruction in 1958.

A magnificent 15-metre length of wallpaper now on display in the Museum came originally from an unremarkable farmhouse in what is now the Bernese Jura. The owner was probably able to afford the exquisite wall decoration thanks to the contraband business.

In 1900, the Swiss artist Ferdinand Hodler created three frescoes the armory hall of the Swiss National Museum in Zurich. Hodler ignored the wishes of his patrons and sparked a nationwide controversy with the composition of the picture for his work «The Retreat from Marignano».

Zurich illustrator Warja Lavater (1913-2007) was internationally known for her artist’s books, in which she told stories using abstract symbols.

The Swiss-British artist John Webber (1751-1793) served as the draughtsman in Captain James Cook’s third expedition to Oceania, Canada, and Alaska. Webber’s artwork captures a unique moment in time – the first encounters of the British with indigenous peoples from around the Pacific Rim.