BBC News

In pictures: Cornelius Gurlitt Nazi-era art trove on display

Published
image copyrightAFP
image captionA hoard of Nazi-era artwork collected by a recluse whose father was an art dealer in Hitler's Germany has gone on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Bern, Switzerland.
image copyrightAFP
image captionThe museum previewed nearly 200 items, collected by Cornelius Gurlitt, that will be publicly displayed in November. Among them were pieces by key German painters Otto Dix, Franz Marc and Otto Mueller.
image copyrightEPA
image captionWorks by German artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner were also featured. Some of the artworks Gurlitt possessed were believed to have been stolen from Jews. The collector hid hundreds of paintings, drawings and sketches in his Munich and Salzburg homes for decades before they were discovered.
image copyrightAFP
image captionThe items previewed on Friday will be on display to the public from 2 November in an exhibition entitled Degenerate Art, Confiscated and Sold.
image copyrightAFP
image captionMost of the artwork is on paper, including important works from the Symbolism, Expressionism, Constructivism and New Objectivity movements.
image copyrightGetty Images
image captionMuch of the artwork was discovered in 2012 at Gurlitt's flat in Munich.
image copyrightAFP
image captionHe died in May 2014 and left his collection to the Bern museum. But the museum only received it after a claim from a relative who contested his will was rejected by a court.

Related Topics

  • Germany
  • Art
  • Switzerland
  • Nazi Germany

More on this story

  • Gurlitt collection: Hoard of Nazi-era art set for Swiss museum

    Published
    15 December 2016

  • Cornelius Gurlitt: One lonely man and his hoard of stolen Nazi art

    Published
    26 March 2014

  • 'Nazi art' hoarder Cornelius Gurlitt, 81, dies

    Published
    6 May 2014

© 2021 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.