“The Penitent Magdalena” by Adriaen van der Werff: This version of the painting hangs in the Munich Pinakothek der Moderne and is similar to the one that was the subject of the return claim.
Image: Pinakothek der Moderne
A court has ordered Christie’s to return an 18th-century painting to the previous owner’s heirs. It belonged to a confidante of Marcel Proust – and was confiscated during the Nazi era.
AWhen the painting last changed hands at Christie’s in London in 2005 for 60,000 pounds, it was still without provenance information, but the origin is now clear and has legal consequences: A “Penitent Magdalene” painted by Adriaen van der Werff in 1707, which was painted in 2017 resurfaced from a private collection in England, once belonged to Lionel Hauser – a distant cousin of Marcel Proust, who was also the writer’s friend and investment adviser.
In 1942, the German occupiers confiscated the painting from Hauser’s Parisian apartment along with numerous other art treasures. The Jewish banker was able to escape deportation in southern France. Before his death in 1958 he tried in vain to recover the works of art that had been stolen from him.
Christie’s contacted Hauser’s heirs, but could not mediate a settlement between them and the consignor, who was not named by the auction house. A lawsuit ensued. A French court has now ordered the auction house to return the work of art to Hauser’s heirs, pay them 10,000 euros and disclose the identity of the consignor.
#Restitution #Christies #return #Van #der #Werff