Scientific Specialist Expertise & Research 100%

KORNFELD

Scientific Specialist Expertise & Research 100%

Unlocking works. Researching history. Conveying knowledge.

Kornfeld is the leading owner-managed auction house for fine art in Switzerland. Since 1864, we have accompanied our customers personally and across generations, conveying the works entrusted to us with the highest reliability, expertise, care, and appreciation.

We create the place where art connects people.

Behind every work stands a story: its creation, its provenance, its art-historical classification, and its condition. Carefully researching these connections and conveying them precisely is the foundation of our catalogues and the trust that our customers place in us. For our Expertise & Research department, we are looking for an art-historically trained personality who will support this work with curiosity, care, and personal responsibility.

Your Task

As a Scientific Specialist, you will participate in the scientific documentation of the works entrusted to us for our auctions. You will work directly with the originals and contribute to ensuring that our cataloguing is well-founded, precise, and reliable.

In close exchange with our team, you will actively contribute your expert knowledge and experience and take responsibility for the quality of your research and texts.

You

• catalogue the works of our auctions and record information on technique, dimensions, signatures, exhibitions, and literature carefully and completely.
• write catalogue texts, classify works based on sound art-historical knowledge, and convey relevant findings understandably and precisely.
• participate in the editing of our catalogues and ensure linguistic and content precision.
• translate catalogue texts between German, English, and French.
• examine works on the original, document their condition carefully, and create precise condition reports.
• research the provenance of the works entrusted to us and document your findings in a traceable manner.
• use our gallery archive, which has grown over generations, specifically for cataloguing, art-historical research, and provenance research.
• assist at customer events, exhibitions, auction preparations, auctions, and auction post-processing.

What You Bring

We are looking for a personality who enjoys precise work on the work and the text, pursues questions consistently, and works through new topics with curiosity. Care, independence, and reliability characterize them as much as the conviction that professional exchange within the team is a prerequisite for good results.

You have a completed degree in Art History; knowledge of art from the 19th to 21st centuries is a great advantage. You command German at a native level, have very good knowledge of English and French, and possess excellent written and oral expression skills; other languages are a plus.

You enjoy working scientifically, conduct well-founded research, and formulate precisely. A careful, structured, and independent way of working, a pronounced eye for detail, and an attentive handling of artworks characterize you as much as discretion, reliability, and a high standard of quality. You are proficient in MS Office; experience with databases and scientific research tools is an advantage. Curiosity, initiative, and the willingness to work into new topics and take on responsibility are part of your profile, as is the flexibility to maintain overview, precision, and care even during intensive auction phases. Experience in the art trade, particularly in an auction house or a gallery, is desirable.

How We Work at Kornfeld

Personal responsibility, trust, attentiveness, and appreciation shape our actions. Commitment, collaboration, service orientation, and fascination for art determine how we live this attitude in everyday life.

Specifically for your role, this means: You take responsibility for the quality of your research and texts, check information conscientiously, and meet deadlines in the catalogue process. You share your knowledge openly within the team, work reliably with our experts, and are always aware that our customers rely on the quality and precision of our information.

You can expect a versatile and responsible activity with direct access to significant original works and our gallery archive, which has grown over generations. j4id10466128jm j4it1145jm j4iy26jm