Inscriptions
Rückseite der (von vorn aus gesehenen) linken vorderen Säule der Sitzbank achteckiges Etikett mit blauem Rand: 8. [oder] 9. [oder] 19[…]8. [und] 19[…]9 [evtl. 1928 und 1929?] [oder] P. [und] J. [hs]; auf der linken Seite des Sockels achteckiges Etikett mit doppeltem blauem Rand: 148 [hs]; auf der rechten vorderen Seite des Sockels abgerissenes Etikett: 41 [oder] 47 [ms]
Provenance
- Unbekannt [Auvergne?] (Künstler/-in)
- Verbleib unbekannt
- wohl spätestens ab 1939 – 14.5.1948, Joseph Altounian-Lorbet (*1889, +1953) (Kunsthändler/-in), MâconZKG/KHZ Inventarbuch Slg. und ZKG/KHZ Inventarbogen/Werkdossier sowie Korrespondenz mit der Direktion, 25.07.1947, Archiv ZKG/KHZ, 10.30.30.700.
- ab 14.5.1948, Vereinigung Zürcher Kunstfreunde (Sammlung), Zürich, Kauf, 3'900 CHFWie oben Fussnote 4.
- ab 14.5.1948, Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft | Kunsthaus Zürich (Museum), Zürich, LeihgabeWie oben Fussnote 4.
Provenance category
indications of being looted art
Provenance category (FOC)
C – The provenance from 1933 to 1945 has not been conclusively clarified; gaps in the ownership history remain. According to current research, there is no evidence of Nazi-looted art. There are, however, implications of Nazi-looted art and / or conspicuous circumstances.
About the provenance
The wooden figure of an enthroned Madonna was acquired by the Vereinigung Zürcher Kunstfreunde in 1948 from the art dealer Joseph Altounian-Lorbet of Mâcon, and loaned to the Kunsthaus Zürich. Altounian-Lorbet had owned it since 1939. However, there are no indications as to other prior owners. Essentially, it is difficult to identify medieval wooden figures and their previous owners if there is no information about the artist and the titles are broadly descriptive. Research into Altounian-Lorbet nevertheless revealed that he was working in Paris between 1933 and 1945, and sold artworks to individuals involved in Nazi looting of art. No concrete indications that the work was confiscated as a result of Nazi persecution have so far been found, but Altounian-Lorbet’s involvement in Nazi looting gives grounds for suspicion. As the research currently stands, it is not possible to state conclusively whether the work constitutes Nazi-looted art. At present, all the known sources have been exhausted.
State of research 30.09.2024
Do you have questions, criticism, suggestions, and further information? Please send us a message to provenienzforschung(at)kunsthaus.ch.
Literature (general)
- Die Meisterwerke, hrsg. von Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft/Christian Klemm, Sammlungskatalog Kunsthaus Zürich, Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz, 2007, S. 18 (ill.).
- Kunsthaus Zürich. Gesamtkatalog der Gemälde und Skulpturen, hrsg. von Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft et al., Sammlungskatalog, Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz, 2007, S. 19.
- Ilene H. Forsyth: The Throne of Wisdom. Wood Sculptures of the Madonna in Romanesque France, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1972, No. 53, vgl. S. 139 f..
not on display