Camille Bombois.
The Spectacle of Life

Cabaret, nature, work, everyday life – in his paintings, French artist Camille Bombois (1883–1970) devoted himself to the great scenes of human life. He thus created a pictorial world between heightened reality and imagination. His works combine careful observation with dreamlike landscape compositions, and are marked by a particular narrative power. 

With Camille Bombois. The Spectacle of Life, the Kunstmuseum Bern is showing the first major exhibition devoted to Camille Bombois in Switzerland. Some eighty paintings give a comprehensive insight into Bombois’ diverse œuvre. In thematic chapters, the exhibition develops the different facets of his work, from cabaret scenes via landscapes and everyday situations to representations of labour, physicality and nature. The presentation invites visitors to rediscover an artist whose unique pictorial language remains fascinating to this day. 

Curator: Raphael Gygax