Medardo Rosso: Inventing Modern Sculpture / Retrospective Exhibition at Kunstmuseum Basel

Discover Medardo Rosso, the Italian-French sculptor and photographer who shaped modern art around 1900. Often overlooked, Rosso influenced sculpture history, rivaling Auguste Rodin. The Medardo Rosso: Inventing Modern Sculpture exhibition at Kunstmuseum Basel showcases 50 sculptures and 250 photographs and drawings, diving into his groundbreaking work from Milan and Paris. Co-curated with Vienna’s mumok, it highlights his experiments with form, material, and technique.
See Rosso’s bronze, plaster, and wax pieces—many rarely shown outside Italy—alongside works by 60+ artists like Lynda Benglis, Constantin Brâncuși, and Louise Bourgeois. This retrospective, the first in Switzerland in 20 years, connects Rosso to icons like Francis Bacon, Yayoi Kusama, and Marcel Duchamp. From the courtyard’s face-off between Rodin’s Burghers of Calais and Pamela Rosenkranz’s piece, the journey spans the museum, blending past and present.
Love art history or modern sculpture? This exhibition reveals Rosso’s lasting impact.