Rose Valland (1898-1980) was a French art historian, curator of the Jeu de Paume in Paris and member of the Resistance who secretly recorded details of works of art looted by the Nazis. During the German occupation of Paris (1940-44), the Jeu de Paume served as a warehouse for the numerous works of art looted by the Germans. In 1961, Rose Valland published ‘Le Front de l’Art’ (The front of art)a book based on his secretly taken notes. Today, Rose Valland is recognized for her role in protecting France’s cultural heritage, her records remain invaluable for research into the provenance of looted works and restitution efforts today.
Rose Valland received multiple honors, including the French Resistance medal (1946). The French Government named her an Officer of the Legion of Honor and Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters. Abroad, she received the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom (1948) and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1972), becoming one of the most decorated French women in history.
In November and December, two key events in Christie’s They will bring Rose Valland and her considerable legacy back to life. On the one hand, the sale of a painting that appears in an iconic image taken at the end of World War II. On November 21, ‘Half-length portrait of a woman’, by Nicolas de Largillierrepainted at the end of the 18th century, will be part of the Paris antique painting auction. The history of the painting is closely linked to that of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Allied Archives Section (also known as Monuments Men). Looted from the vault of the Baron Philippe de Rothschild (1902-1988) in Arcachon at the end of 1940 and transferred to the Jeu de Paume in Paris in February 1941, the portrait was recovered by the Monuments Men in May 1945, days before the end of the Second World War, in the Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavariathanks to the notes Rose Valland had secretly taken and shared.
The painting is part of a iconic photography taken in May 1945 on the steps of Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, showing James J. Rorimer, one of the Monuments Men, holding three of the many works of art looted by the Germans.
Thanks to the foresight of Rose Valland, the painting was located in early May 1945 in Bavaria along with thousands of other looted works of art and returned to Paris in November 1945, highlighting the pragmatic attitude of the Allied authorities. , which favored a rapid first wave of restitutions. The work was officially restored to the Rothschild family on May 3, 1946 and remained in his collection until 1978, when it was acquired at auction by its current owner. The portrait will be offered on November 21 in Paris with an estimated price of 50,000 to 80,000 euros.
Nicolas de Largillierre He was one of the most prominent painters in Paris during the reign of Louis XIV and the Regency. His acclaimed portraits, in the style of Rubens and Van Dyck, are part of the permanent collections of the Louvre, the Palace of Versailles and the Uffizi Galleries, among others. His works are receiving a renewed recognition from collectors around the world, underlined by the new auction record for the artist set at Christie’s in 2020 by ‘La Belle Strasbourgeoise’, which sold for €1.6 million.
Rose Valland, a heroine
On the other hand, on December 10, at Christie’s New York, the Monuments Men and Women Foundation will launch the first edition in English of ‘The Art Front’Valland’s pioneering work, first published in French in 1961. As looted French private collections passed through the doors of the Jeu de PaumeValland eavesdropped on conversations in German and secretly kept meticulous notes on the destinations of shipments of trains and trucks full of looted works of art. Valland’s modest appearance and calm demeanor hid his intelligence and courage. Although they distrusted her, The Nazis didn’t know he understood German.allowing him to obtain critical information from their conversations. Another source of information was his colleagues, drivers, guards and packers. She transmitted all her notes to Jacques Jaujard, director of the National Museums of France.
After the liberation of Paris by Allied forces in late August 1944, Captain James J. Rorimer met with Rose Valland and shared the information she had gathered risking his life led to the discovery of multiple repositories of looted art, most prominently at Neuschwanstein Castle, which would later be instrumental in the process of returning the objects to their rightful owners.
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