The Austrian government decided not to pay restitution "Beethoven frieze" by Gustav Klimt
The heirs demanded his return, calling the forced sale of 1973. Austrian Committee for the restitution did not agree
Austrian Committee for the restitution of last Friday ruled that "Beethoven frieze" by Gustav Klimt should remain in the country. Recall that restitution of this masterpiece of the art Nouveau era in 2013 achieve heirs Austrian industrialist and collector Erich Lederer. According to the statement of heirs, Lederer under duress sold to the Austrian government a mural created by Klimt in 1902, specially for the exhibition of the Vienna secession, devoted Bethoven@
However, in this case it is not about the crimes of the Nazi government. Everything is much more complicated. Confiscation of the frieze by the Nazis actually took place in 1938, but after the war, the frieze was returned to Erich Lederer, son of the original owner frescoes of August Lederer. However, Erich Lederer lived in Switzerland, and he was not allowed to take out the mural in this country: in those years, in Austria there was a law limiting the right to export cultural property of national significance. In the result of Erich Lederer in 1973 he sold the "Beethoven frieze" Austria over 15 million shillings (at the time about 750 thousand dollars). The Central question thus remains unanswered: was this sale vynujdennoi@
In 2009 in Austrian law was amended, resolution of restitution claims associated with the ban on the export of works of art. The heirs of Lederer was not slow to use it and filed a lawsuit. As one of the arguments in favor of the theory of forced sale they give the opinion of the auction Christie's, who appreciated the "Beethoven frieze" at the time of sale twice 750 thousand dollars. However, the head of the Austrian Committee for the restitution of Clemens Jabloner (Clemens Jabloner) believes that "this is not the case when the export system was used as a tool for coercion of Lederer to the signing of the agreement". The Committee agreed that sufficient grounds for return of the frieze there, and the government will listen to the opinion of the Committee in this Voprosi@
a controversial decision still that will allow you to leave the "Beethoven frieze" in Austria. Beloved by the Austrians and the rest of the world fresco 1986 permanently exhibited in the building of the Vienna secession. Interestingly, Klimt did not plan to keep the frieze - he wrote his unstable paints directly on stukaturka@
Sources: nydailynews.com, vanityfair.com, bbc.com, artinvestment.ru
Permanent link to:
https://artinvestment.ru/en/news/artnews/20150310_klimt_restitution.html
https://artinvestment.ru/news/artnews/20150310_klimt_restitution.html
© artinvestment.ru, 2025
Attention! All materials of the site and database of auction results ARTinvestment.RU, including illustrated reference information about the works sold at auctions, are intended for use exclusively for informational, scientific, educational and cultural purposes in accordance with Art. 1274 of the Civil Code. Use for commercial purposes or in violation of the rules established by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation is not allowed. ARTinvestment.RU is not responsible for the content of materials submitted by third parties. In case of violation of the rights of third parties, the site administration reserves the right to remove them from the site and from the database on the basis of an application from an authorized body.