Monuments Men Foundation I Discoveries and Returns I Bernardo Bellotto

Monuments Men Foundation Uncovers Evidence Indicating Nazi Era “Forced Sale” Painting Currently on View at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Belongs to Heirs of Dr. Max Emden

Press Release

Bernardo Bellotto, The Marketplace at Pirna (c.1764)

Emden v. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

History of Bellotto's provenances by MFAH

1994

2000s

June 2021

MMF Analysis of MFAH Provenance Report by Laurie Stein

Provenance Report by Laurie Stein

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Evidence

A watercolor painting by Christian Friedrich Wiegand featuring artworks of the Winckler collection

Wiegand's watercolor featured in a 1937 publication

A parchment overlay indicating the artist and inventory number for each featured artwork

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Late 18th Century: Leipzig merchant and banker Gottfried Winckler (1731-1795) purchases "The Marketplace at Pirna" likely directly from Bernardo Bellotto and assigns it inventory number 1025. Winckler’s collection of paintings was one of the most important private middle-class collections in central Germany in the second half of the 18th century. Circa 1800, artist Christian Friedrich Wiegand recorded portions of Winckler's painting collection, including "The Marketplace at Pirna" in a series of eight watercolors.

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By 1930: "The Marketplace at Pirna" is in the gallery of German art dealer Anna Caspari in Munich. Caspari subsequently sells the painting to Dr. Max James Emden.

Galerie Haberstock Berlin ledger handwritten purchase entry, June 1938.

Galerie Haberstock Berlin ledger handwritten sale entry, June 1938.

Galerie Haberstock Berlin photo S71 (detail)

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June 1938: Karl Haberstock “purchases” Emden's "The Marketplace at Pirna," along with two other view paintings by Bellotto and his studio that he owned, and immediately sells them to the Reichskanzlei. The sale was arranged by Anna Caspari. Haberstock was a German art dealer who acquired numerous works of art for Hitler and his planned Führermuseum in Linz.

By August 1940: "The Marketplace at Pirna" is assigned a Linz number (F-35) and is included in Linz Album V, one of 31 albums that contained images of the works of art that had been selected for the Führermuseum.

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Bernardo Bellotto
“The Marketplace at Pirna”

Monuments Men Foundation Uncovers Evidence Indicating Nazi Era “Forced Sale” Painting Currently on View at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Belongs to Heirs of Dr. Max Emden

History of Bellotto's provenances by MFAH

MMF Analysis of MFAH Provenance Report by Laurie Stein

Press

MFAH may keep painting once owned by Hitler’s art dealer, as judge rules against Jewish heirs

Houston Chronicle

This MFAH painting was purchased by Hitler's art dealer. Should it be returned to Jewish owner's family?

Houston Chronicle

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Must End Its Head-in-the-Sand Approach to Justice When It Comes to Restitution

Artnet

Restitution Experts Blast Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts for Refusing to Return a Painting Once Purchased for Hitler’s Museum

Artnet

What Constitutes Art Sales Under Duress? A Dispute Reignites the Question

The New York Times

MFA Houston Owns Bellotto Painting Sold Under Duress During World War II, Foundation Claims

ArtNews

Evidence

By 1930: "The Marketplace at Pirna" is in the gallery of German art dealer Anna Caspari in Munich. Caspari subsequently sells the painting to Dr. Max James Emden.

Bernardo Bellotto “The Marketplace at Pirna”

Monuments Men Foundation Uncovers Evidence Indicating Nazi Era “Forced Sale” Painting Currently on View at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Belongs to Heirs of Dr. Max Emden

History of Bellotto's provenances by MFAH

MMF Analysis of MFAH Provenance Report by Laurie Stein

Press

MFAH may keep painting once owned by Hitler’s art dealer, as judge rules against Jewish heirs

Houston Chronicle

This MFAH painting was purchased by Hitler's art dealer. Should it be returned to Jewish owner's family?

Houston Chronicle

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Must End Its Head-in-the-Sand Approach to Justice When It Comes to Restitution

Artnet

Restitution Experts Blast Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts for Refusing to Return a Painting Once Purchased for Hitler’s Museum

Artnet

What Constitutes Art Sales Under Duress? A Dispute Reignites the Question

The New York Times

MFA Houston Owns Bellotto Painting Sold Under Duress During World War II, Foundation Claims

ArtNews

Evidence

By 1930: "The Marketplace at Pirna" is in the gallery of German art dealer Anna Caspari in Munich. Caspari subsequently sells the painting to Dr. Max James Emden.

Bernardo Bellotto
“The Marketplace at Pirna”