Baltic aristocrat Elisàr von Kupffer was a painter, poet, historian and dramatist. He went by the pseudonym of Elisarion. In 1891 he met Eduard von Mayer, born in Saint Petersburg in 1873, who became his friend and companion from 1897. After a long period living in Florence, they settled in Muralto in 1915 and in 1925 purchased a plot of land in Minusio (via Simen), where they built the Sanctuarium Artis Elisarion. The rotunda, added in 1939, was built especially to house the cyclorama “The Clear World of the Blissful”, painted between 1919 and 1929. In 1978, the painting was transferred to Monte Verità by Harald Szeemann and today, after a challenging restoration, is part of the Monte Verità Museum Complex.
The mounting of the Elisarion Pavilion with the reconstructed canopy gives a lively impression of this unique artistic creation. It consists of 16 canvases and presents 84 male nudes arranged in 33 scenes. An accompanying historical exhibition, curated by Andreas Schwab, presents Elisàr von Kupffer and Eduard von Mayer, who together founded “Clarism” as a new religion.
Comune di Minusio
Associazione Pro Elisarion
22 March - 01 November
Sat | 14:00 - 18:00
Sun and public holidays | 10:00 - 13:00 | 14:00 - 18:00
Prices
Full: CHF 5.00 p.p. (no reductions available)
Free (≤ 16s, Museumspass, Swiss Travel Pass, Membership Card Raiffeisen, ICOM, VMS)
Combi-ticket "Casa Anatta + Padiglione Elisarion" CHF 15.00 p.p. (only at Casa Anatta available)
Picture by Roberto Pellegrini
