This September, I have the profound honour of presenting «The Persistence of Presence» at the National Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo - a place where Swiss art history has travelled an extraordinary distance to meet the present. The Gallery is home to more than a hundred works by Ferdinand Hodler, brought to Sarajevo through the remarkable story of Jeanne Charles, Hodler’s model and companion, who later married the Bosnian diplomat Mehmed Ćišić. The collection moved across continents and generations before finding its home in Sarajevo. But the story of these works does not end with their arrival. During the siege of Sarajevo, when the Gallery itself was being shelled, its pre-war director made an extraordinary decision: refugees were moved into the protected storage depot where the collection was kept. Their presence helped protect the artworks from being taken or destroyed - and in turn, the artworks’ shelter became a refuge for people who had lost their homes. Art...