Ghosts. On the Trail of the Supernatural

Benjamin West, Saul and the Witch of Endor, 1777, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT. Bequest of Clara Hinton Gould

Ghosts are omnipresent in visual culture and have always haunted art. As beings of the in-between, ghosts are mediators between worlds, between above and below, life and death, horror and humor, good and evil, visible and invisible. Any attempt to depict, record, or communicate with them is therefore a cognitive challenge and an emotional thrill.

This fall and winter, the Kunstmuseum Basel is dedicating a comprehensive special exhibition to these unfathomable beings. Featuring over 160 works and objects from the past 250 years, Ghosts: On the Trail of the Supernatural explores the rich visual culture that developed around the subject of ghosts in the Western world in the 19th century—driven by a fusion of science, spiritualism, and popular media that has inspired artists time and again since.

The 19th century is generally considered a golden age of rationality, science, and technology, but it was also a heyday for belief in ghosts and apparitions. In the second half of the century, ghosts became a means of approaching the study of the psyche and opening up new avenues into the human inner life. Romanticism had awakened a desire for spectacle and wonder, so belief in ghosts was supported by technological innovations and illusion techniques, such as the theatrical technique of Pepper's Ghost.

Hundreds of millions of people around the world believe in ghosts. Their collective belief has deep historical roots. Although enormous advances in science and technology seemingly leave no room for it, most people today still maintain a skeptical belief in the supernatural.

The fact that the phenomena in question constantly interact with our collective imagination, even with our cultural unconscious, is what makes ghosts and spirits such persistently powerful entities—and the exhibition a surprising, stimulating, and impressive experience.

Exhibited artists