When Oskar Reinhart (1885–1965) bequeathed a significant part of his remarkable art collection – chiefly of French nineteenth-century painting but also containing a number of outstanding Old Masters – to the Swiss nation, he did so on condition that the works of art would never be loaned. As a consequence the many very important works in the collection have not been discussed in major exhibition catalogues and have not received the scholarly attention they deserve. This volume, with full entries on the entire collection of 207 works by 45 leading scholars in their field, both American and European, and superb plates carefully checked against the originals, sets out to rectify this state of affairs.

Artists represented by several works in the collection that Reinhart made his monument include: Cézanne (11), Chardin (4), Corot (9), Courbet (10), Daumier (20), Delacroix (9), Géricault (2), Van Gogh (5), Maillol (8), Manet (4), Picasso (4), Pissarro (2), Renoir (15), Sisley (2). A well illustrated introduction explains the ideas and context behind Reinhart’s collecting and affords insights into his character.