Untitled 

Bernhard Hasler made this untitled print with pen and ink, sometime before his death in 1945. The lyrical image depicts an otherworldly scene, with dancing figures, ethereal landscapes and musical notation, expressing an almost dream-like romanticism. Hasler was Swiss, and although he spent much of his career working as a teacher, he was also a committed artist. During the 1920s and 30s, there was a lot of debate within Swiss artistic and intellectual circles about the position of Switzerland as a neutral country. Switzerland was surrounded by countries undergoing rapid political change and many Swiss artists saw it as their duty to express values of freedom and democracy in the face of rising authoritarianism. Perhaps, the apparently apolitical subject matter of this print, and its focus on the power of imagination, was Hasler’s way of protesting against the turbulent backdrop of European politics. Understanding this artwork fully depends on knowing more about the artist and his cultural context. Research into the history of Swiss art and intellectual life in the interwar period might yield a deeper appreciation of its cultural significance.