When There Can Be No Restitution.

[sechan19]

The Israel Museum in Jerusalem has recently opened a double exhibition of art looted by the Nazis that has been held in France and Israel, respectively, as their owners have never come forward. The two exhibitions, in addition to showcasing works by some of Europe's most celebrated nineteenth-century masters, focus on the challenges attached to the research and restitution of art looted in war. In addition, the two exhibitions bring publicity to the Israel Museum's online image cache of works in the museum whose provenance is unknown. That cache is accompanied by information on what to do if you recognize a work and want to put in a claim on it.

The road to the exhibition was not perfectly smooth, of course. France would not allow the works to travel to Israel until they passed a law prohibiting the immediate seizure of art in the cases of lodged claims - which strikes me a being perfectly sensible. It's a sad fact of human nature that tragedy is often misused in an attempt to get something for nothing.

At any rate, this is a show that I would love to have the chance to see, as the topic is one that has particularly interested me throughout my own scholarly history.

Here are some links to the exhibition sites:
Looking for Owners: Custody, Research, and Restitution of Art Stolen in France During World War II
Israel Museum: World War II Provenance Research Online
Stolen Art on Display in a Search for Owners (New York Times)

Comments

[lordameth.livejournal.com]

Indeed. I'm afraid I don't have any particularly deep comment to make here, but I saw the NYTimes article when it was published, and thought the same - that this would be a very interesting exhibit to see, were I to have the chance.

In the two times I've been to Israel, I don't think I've ever been to the Israel Museum...