61340 Vorabseiten_e - Unabhängige Expertenkommission Schweiz

Out of a total of around 20,000 confiscated works, 125 went to the auction in
Lucerne. 99 works can be classed as German art, and 26 as foreign items. Of the
99 works, just 57 were sold; however, all the foreign works were sold, except for
Picasso’s «Absinthe Drinker» («Absinthtrinkerin»). In total, 82 works were sold.
23 of them remained in Switzerland; 18 initially acquired Swiss ownership but
then went abroad. With regard to the paintings’ departure from Europe, we
found that 93 remained in Europe, 21 went to the USA, and 11 remained
unsold. A number of works later returned to Europe from the USA.
The problem of provenance
In the notable case of Chagall’s «Rabbi», we have a complete record of the
various stages in its eventful «life». In many other cases, however, there was a
tendency – or, indeed, a well-established practice – of determining provenance
or origin purely on the basis of the last seller’s statements. If the last seller, or a
donor, appeared to be credible, honest and reliable, further questions as to
provenance or, indeed, a complete record of the changes of ownership were felt
to be unnecessary. The almost tangible impression arises time and again that the
persons interested in purchasing the artefact – if, indeed, they asked about
provenance at all – were content to accept vague and cursory answers. Our investigations
revealed that in some cases, even catalogues of museums, of collections,
and other catalogues which show the provenance of the objects of art,
either ignore the gaps from the 1930s and 1940s or gloss them over with extraneous
information. Given the current state of knowledge, academic catalogues
and studies in the field of art history should no longer ignore the historical
upheavals – especially the forced break-up of Jewish collections. Private
collectors were more likely to purchase looted art than public collections.
However, many of the private collections which were established during the
period in question were later bequeathed to museums or transferred to public
ownership in some other way. As a result, flight assets and looted art, or «degenerate
art» purchased at the time, can be found in these public collections as well.
The primary objective of the ICE’s work was not to resolve individual cases, but
to reveal structures and actors and supply typologies and categories for the
transactions which took place in the art market so that individual cases – even
those which have yet to come to light – can be placed within a clearly defined
context in the future. Quantitative details will undoubtedly have to be supplemented
on an ongoing basis in the coming years. What remains valid, however,
are the ICE’s statements on structures, mechanisms and motives for the transfer
of cultural assets during the period under review.
Apart from the already well-known cases, our investigations have not brought
any significant new cases of trade in looted art to light. This does not mean that
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