Crucifixions, martyrdoms, torments, massacres, wars, wounds, sacrifices... Art history abounds with cruel representations. Contemporary art also explores this theme extensively. As many thinkers state repeatedly, cruelty is at the heart of the human being and therefore of artistic creation. The exhibition ponders the multiple dimensions of this cruel art and examines the way in which ancient and contemporary artists, from Albrecht Dürer to Annette Messager, have testified to the cruelty and violence of the world.

Bringing together more than 180 works from the Vevey collections and major public and private collections in Switzerland and France, this event allows the public to discover strong and striking images, ranging from the Renaissance to the present day. Placing the graphic arts at the heart of the exhibition, the discourse is enriched by a selection of works from other media (photography, painting, sculpture, cinema and installation).

The project is curated by the art historian Claire Stoullig, former curator and director of prestigious French museums, and a specialist in 20th century art and graphic arts, assisted by Emmanuelle Neukomm, curator of Fine Arts at the Jenisch Museum Vevey.

Artists : Jacques-Laurent Agasse, Albrecht Altdorfer, Hans Baldung,Giambattista Barca Schelte, Adams Bolswert, Antoinette Bouzonnet-Stella, Isaac Briot, Jacques Callot, Jules Chadel, Émile Chambon, François Chauveau, Charles Clément, Paul Colin, Éric Corne, Claude Cortinovis, Pierre François Courtois, Eugène Delacroix, Gustave Doré, Louis Fabritius Dubourg, Marlene Dumas, Albrecht Dürer, Lélo Fiaux, Giovanni Folo, Claude Ferdinand Gaillard, Domenico Gargiulo, Théodore Géricault, Giorgio Ghisi, Delphine Gigoux-Martin, Hendrick Goltzius, Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes, Jean Ignace, Isidore Gérard, Grandville, Jacques Grinberg, Hubertine Heijermans Tellander, Augustin Hirschvogel, William Hogarth, Rebecca Horn, Laurent de La Hyre, Giovanni Lanfranco, Pierre Lélu, Filippo Marsigli, André Masson, Claude Mellan, Luc-Olivier Merson, Annette Messager, Stefan Milkov, Aimé Montandon, Zoran Music, Patrick Neu, Lelio Orsi, Philippe-Louis Parizeau, Fritz Pauli, Domenico Pedrini, François Perrier, Savinien Petit, Françoise Pétrovitch, Bernard Picart, Étienne Picart, Pablo Picasso, Paul Pontius, Francisque Poulbot, Arnulf Rainer, Cécile Reims, Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, dit Rembrandt, Jean-Claude Richard, abbé de Saint-Non,  Sophie Ristelhueber, Odilon Roche, Salvator Rosa, Peter Paul Rubens, Johan Sadeler I, Gabriel de Saint-Aubin, Antonio Saura, Jakob Matthias Schmutzer, dit le Jeune, Martin Schongauer, Luca Signorelli, Dominique Sornique, Louis Soutter, Jacques Stella, Félix Vallotton, Ulla von Brandenburg, Simon Vouet, Kara Walker, Matthäus Zaisinger, dit Maître MZ, Jérôme Zonder.