Swiss Foundation Launches Provenance Investigations into Works by Albert Anker and Tilman Riemenschneider
The Independent Commission of Switzerland's SKKG is evaluating potential Nazi-era persecution-related losses for two high-profile artworks.
Two new proceedings have been launched to clarify the provenance of artworks owned by the Swiss Foundation for Art, Culture, and History (SKKG): an 1874 painting by Swiss master Albert Anker and a Renaissance sculpture attributed to the workshop of Tilman Riemenschneider.
According to a statement released on Wednesday by the Winterthur-based foundation, the SKKG’s Independent Commission initiated the proceedings at the end of October. The panel is investigating whether the objects were seized, sold under duress, or lost between 1933 and 1945 due to Nazi persecution—and whether heirs of the former owners have valid claims to them.
The first investigation centers on Der neue Wein I (The New Wine I), painted in 1874 by Albert Anker. Evidence suggests the canvas may have belonged to the collection of Erna Marcelina Reder Frenkel (1904–1971) and Jacob Reder (1891–1965).
The Jewish couple was forced to flee Brussels for the United States in 1939 to escape National Socialist persecution. The Swiss commission is actively tracing the artwork’s chain of ownership during the war years to determine if a persecution-related loss occurred. Should the investigation confirm a forced sale or seizure, the commission stated it will work toward a "just and fair solution" with the legal heirs.
The second inquiry involves Heiliger Johannes (Saint John), a lime-wood sculpture created between 1510 and 1520 and attributed to the workshop of German Renaissance sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider. The piece has been held in the SKKG collection since 1993.
While the commission has not yet released specific details regarding the sculpture’s historical ownership, this case marks the fifth formal provenance investigation launched by the Swiss foundation to date.
Main Image: Der neue Wein I (The New Wine I), painted in 1874 by Albert Anker