The Musée d'Orsay opens a Room dedicated to Works looted by the Nazis
The Musée d'Orsay opened a new exhibition space dedicated to works of art recovered in Germany after the Second World War, some of which were stolen from Jewish owners under the Nazi regime.
In the aftermath of WW2, over 100,000 cultural artifacts were declared looted. Approximately 60,000 works were recovered in Germany and Austria because they had been looted or purchased in France during the Occupation. Many of these had passed through the art market, which was particularly active during this period. Three-quarters were returned, but 15,000 remained without an identified owner. Most of these works were sold by the State in the early 1950s, except for about 2,200, which were selected for safekeeping by national museums: these became the MNR (“Musées Nationaux Récupération” – National Museums Recovery). The museums are responsible for their preservation and must investigate their provenance in order to return those that can be returned.
Over the past thirty years, 15 (Musées Nationaux Récupération) works held at the Musée d'Orsay have been returned. An additional 225 works remain in the museum's possession, most often because their provenance is still incomplete due to current research, and in some cases because it has been established that they were not stolen or looted and are therefore not eligible for restitution. Under the impetus of the Ministry of Culture (Mission for Research and Restitution of Cultural Property Looted between 1933 and 1945, M2RS), in conjunction with the Commission for the Restitution of Property and the Compensation of Victims of Anti-Semitic Spoliation (CIVS), the Musée d'Orsay is engaged in a proactive provenance research policy to shed light on its collections and pursue restitutions. This approach relies in particular on the recruitment of independent provenance research specialists, made possible thanks to the generous support of the American Friends of the Musée d'Orsay and the Musée de l'Orangerie (AFMO).
The opening of this room within the permanent collection allows for the rotating display of a selection of MNR (National Museums Recovery) works, offering a glimpse into the ongoing research. A selection of 13 works is currently on display, highlighting the complexity of this heritage and illuminating its implications. Suspended between past and present, each piece bears witness to an ongoing provenance research, revealing the diversity of situations, both in terms of quality and provenance. Others are presented in the museum and are now identifiable by specific (purple) labels, or are on loan to numerous French museums.
Over time, the "Whose Works Do They Belong To?" room is intended to evolve, presenting the public with discoveries resulting from this research, some of which could lead to new restitutions. It thus constitutes a space for memory, transparency, and active research, at the heart of contemporary issues related to the history of collections.