A painting by Pierre-August Renoir, restituted to the heirs of a Jewish banker, has now been bought by the city of Hagen in Germany.
The work in question is ‘View of the Sea from Haut Cagnes’, made by Renoir around 1910. The painting was first bought was Jakob Goldschmidt, a Jewish banker and one of the most prominent art collectors in 1920s Germany. In 1933, early during the Nazi’s Jew-oppression policies, Goldschmidt fled Germany to find a safe haven in Switzerland. However, he had to leave behind a number of paintings – the Renoir included – as collateral against his loans. In 1941, the Nazi authorities seized his collection and sold the works to a Berlin-based auction house. The painting was eventually purchased by Fritz Berg.
In 1989, after the death of Berg’s widow, the painting was given over to the Osthaus Museum in Hagen – where it has been on display ever since. Goldschmidt died in 1955. Around 15 years ago, his heirs petitioned the city and the museum to restitute the painting to them. However, the museum wanted to continue possessing the work, considering it an important attraction of the Osthaus Museum.
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On Wednesday, it was announced that the heirs and the city of Hagen had finally reached an agreement. While the painting was formally restituted to the heirs, the heirs also agreed to re-sell the painting to the city for an undisclosed amount. The work will continue to be displayed at the Osthaus. The lawyer for the heirs said: “The heirs of Jakob Goldschmidt are happy to have reached a satisfactory agreement for both sides in this matter after more than 15 years of intensive discussions. The restitution of the painting is a recognition of the fact that their grandfather suffered great wrongs under the Nazi regime, including huge financial losses.”
