According to the plaintiffs, their ancestor Erich Lederer in 1973, was forced to sell one of the greatest works of Gustav Klimt Austrian state at a discounted price

« Beethoven Frieze " by Gustav Klimt to a temporary exhibition in Venice
Source : nytimes.com

heir to the Austrian industrialist and collector Erich Lederer intend to sue the Austrian restitution is one of the greatest works of Gustav Klimt and the whole of European modernism - " Beethoven Frieze ". The value of this work to the European culture is so great that a fragment of the frieze was depicted on a commemorative gold coin at 100 euros , minted in Austria in 2004 .

« Beethoven Frieze " was created in 1902 year, especially for the exhibition of the Vienna Secession , dedicated to composer Ludwig van Beethoven . Gustav Klimt wrote his unstable paints directly on the plaster . After the close of the exhibition frieze 34-by 2 meters and weighs about 4 tons have decided to keep and divided into seven parts .

Owners frieze - a family of influential industrialists and long-time patrons of Klimt Lederer - were forced to emigrate to Switzerland after the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938. However, their outstanding collection , which included seven-part mural Klimt, fell into the hands of the new authorities . Many works from the collection of Lederer , including 18 other works by Klimt , have been destroyed in the last days of the war. Fortunately, the " Beethoven Frieze " survived . And even been returned to pre-war owners . But the story , as it turns out , is not over .

As stated now heirs through their lawyers , the Austrian government literally forced to sell them to Erich Lederer " Beethoven Frieze ". Only in the case of a sale to them of the frieze , the authorities agreed to issue an export permit Lederer other works from his collection. In a letter of 1972, addressed to the Chancellor Bruno Kreisky , Erich Lederer complains of extortion by the authorities. In 1973, he sold all the same , " Beethoven Frieze " for 750 thousand dollars. Now, his heirs argue that the price was too low (according to Christie's, the cost of the frieze in those years was twice as large ) . Since 1986, the " Beethoven Frieze " is constantly on display in the Vienna Secession building .

This is perhaps the first such high-profile court case on the restitution of forced sales that occurred after the war. By relatively fresh Austrian law , adopted in 2009 , the State Commission for the Restitution should take into account such cases .

Prepared by Mary Onuchina , AI

Sources : nytimes.com , bloomberg.com , artinvestment.ru