Description of the attraction
The Basel Museum of Caricature and Animation is the only museum in Switzerland dedicated exclusively to the art of satire and humor, from cartoons to comics. With the museum's rich collection of nearly 3,400 drawings belonging to the museum and about 2,000 drawings provided for the exhibition, it is considered the most significant center for satirical drawing. The exhibition provides a vivid picture of the work of nearly 700 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, including Jean-Maurice Bosc, Claire Bretechet, Saul Steinberg and others. The collection includes drawings with and without text, parodies, stylizations like works of art and artists, cartoons, etc. The entire collection is digitally inventoried and carefully organized.
The founder of the Museum of Caricature and Animation is Dieter Burckhardt, who wished to make his private collection of cartoons and drawings of comic content available to a wide audience. The Basel cartoonist Jürg Spar, who curated the museum until 1995, was also involved in the collection.
The museum consists of two parts: an old building in the late Gothic style on the historic side of the street and a modern building hidden there. Visitors enter the three-story museum through an old building with a façade on the street, which houses a lobby with a museum shop, exhibition halls, a library and an office, restored by the Basel architects Herzog and de Meuron. Through a bright atrium with glass viewing bridges, they enter the rear, a new part of the building, designed by Herzog and de Meuron, which houses three more exhibition halls. In total, the museum occupies about 350 sq. m., of which 190 sq. m. - exhibition space.
