Büste eines Bischofs

recto auf der rechten Seite der Figur oberhalb der Brust: Heinrich La [?]

verso M. Etikette: 568 [ms]; verso u. M. Etikette: 12 [?] [ms]; auf der Unterseite der Figur KHZ-Etikette [ms und hs]

1954

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.

The bust of a bishop was purchased in 1954 from Benno Griebert of Meersburg, from whom it had been on loan at the Kunsthaus since 1951. The art historian and dealer Benno Griebert had made his name as a dealer in late-Gothic objects through the exhibition «Madonnas on Lake Constance» in 1950 at Schloss Meersburg. Prior to 1945, he had acted as advisor to an organization involved in seizing cultural property in the occupied areas. 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. No concrete indications that the figure was confiscated as a result of Nazi persecution have been found, but Griebert’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.

- Kunsthaus Zürich. Gesamtkatalog der Gemälde und Skulpturen, hrsg. von Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft et al., Sammlungskatalog, Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz, 2007, S. 21.