pushingfor legal grounds in Nazi-looted art restitution
Following the call for a restitution reform by Green's Minister of State for Culture, Claudia Roth, Bavaria's Minister of Art, Markus Blume, is advocating for a legal basis. In an interview with German Press Agency in Munich, Blume highlighted the importance of accompanying the Advisory Commission's further development with a binding legal framework. He asserted that although voluntariness and attitude are beneficial, laws offer even more certainty.
Roth proposed that starting in January, cultural institution funding would be dependent on accepting new regulations by the Advisory Commission for Nixon-looted property restoration. She envisions the Commission being able to intervene at the request of a single party involved in a dispute over a potentially looted artwork. Currently, the Commission may only intervene when both parties agree to its involvement - the party laying claim to a looted piece and the institution possessing it.
Unfortunately, one side can hinder the process by not acting or being obstinate. This inaction or resistance is believed to be one of the reasons the Commission has only mediated in 23 instances over the preceding 20 years. Estimates suggest that up to 600,000 works of art were stolen during the Nazi regime.
Criticism has also been levied at Bavaria for its approach to this issue, notably in the ongoing dispute with Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy's heirs over the Picasso painting, "Madame Soler." Despite intense scrutiny, a spokesperson for Bavaria's Ministry of Art argued that the painting does not meet the necessary conditions for appealing to the Advisory Commission.
Emphasizing Bavaria's support for restitution without conditions, Blume referred to the Office for Provenance Research, established by the Bavarian State Painting Collections in 1999. Since then, this office has examined over 6,000 works and restituted 25 pieces from seventeen collections. Since the implementation of the Washington Declaration, Bavarian state institutions have restituted 245 pieces.
As the restitution debate continues, Roth is encouraged to tackle the lacking legal certainty for the restitution process, and develop more robust measures to inspire collective success.
Additional Insights:
Legal Framework and Precedents: The return of Nazi-looted art is often governed by international agreements and national laws, such as the Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art and UNESCO’s Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property.
High-Profile Restitution Cases: A notable example of an art restitution case is the return of five Gustav Klimt paintings to their Jewish family's heirs in 2006. This case was also depicted in the movie "Woman in Gold." In 2023, Ronald S. Lauder agreed to restitute and repurchase Klimt's "The Black Feather Hat," stolen during the Nazi regime.
Bavaria's Minister of Art's Views: The provided sources do not contain specific information regarding Bavaria's Minister of Art's stance on Nazi-looted art in response to Roth's proposals. However, given the broader legal and ethical context, it is likely that any such views would be guided by the existing legal frameworks.
