From Kirchner's Morphine to a Passion for Giacometti

In this volume Renato Bergamin talks about a very personal approach to the two great artists Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Alberto Giacometti. By chance, he met the art patron and gallery owner Eberhard W. Kornfeld in 1984, and twelve years later he got to know the photographer and publisher Ernst Scheidegger. Both gave him a very unique and personal insight into the art of the 20th century. In many conversations and during his “unforgettable encounters” with both of them, the author was given unparalleled impressions about the dimensions and atmosphere of a thrilling bygone art scene. Born 1923, Eberhard W. Kornfeld was in direct contact with key artists of the 20th century and befriended many of them, becoming friends with Giacometti in 1948. To this day he also has a very special relationship to the works of Kirchner, which constitute an important focal area of his private collection. Ernst Scheidegger, who passed away in February 2016, already met Giacometti in 1943. This resulted in a lifelong friendship and the most comprehensive photographic documentation of his life and work.