The Museum of Fine Arts (Kunstmuseum) and the Paul Klee Centre in Bern put the seven deadly sins, first acclaimed by Pope Gregorius the First (540–604), into the perspective of today’s society by works of Marina Abramovic, Adriaen Brouwer, Marc Chagall, Otto Dix, Albrecht Dürer, Fischli / Weiss, Gilbert & George, Andreas Gursky, Paul Klee, Bruce Nauman, Martin Parr, Sigmar Polke, Peter Paul Rubens, Cindy Sherman, Yinka Shonibare, Andy Warhol. Pope Gregory I was referring to seven attitudes of the soul, bad characteristics or vices, which lead to the death of the relationship between humankind and God as well as of relationships among humankind. The attitude to the individual sins listed here has grown ambivalent in recent times and the paintings from different centuries give a clear picture: avarice (avarita), envy (invidia), gluttony (gula), lust (luxuria), pride (superbia), anger (ira) and sloth (acedia) pass the revue of the changing attitudes of society.
