A Question of Origins
22 Oct 2014 - 04 Jan 2015
A QUESTION OF ORIGINS
Three Bremen Collectors and the Journey of Their Collections during National Socialism
22 October 2014 - 4 January 2015
Provenance research, namely an investigation concerning the histories and journeys of works of art, including their previous owners, has long been a concern of German museums, not only since the spectacular discovery of pictures in Munich during 2013. For three years, a research project has been under way at the Kunsthalle Bremen concerning approximately 120 works from the collection. An examination was made as to whether these paintings, drawings and sculptures had possibly been stolen from persecuted Jewish owners between 1933 and 1945. The research revealed the fascinating journeys of these works as well as the biographies and activities of the Bremen art dealers and collectors Arnold Blome, Heinrich Glosemeyer and Hugo Oelze. A chapter of Bremen's artistic and cultural history, until now concealed in darkness, has thereby been brought to light.
The Kunsthalle Bremen is presenting the results of its research in a comprehensive exhibition in which paintings and drawings from the Middle Ages to modern art are on display. Furthermore, the collector and dealer Arnold Blome will be revealed for the first time to a wider public as an artist in his own right. His oeuvre extends from Expressionism through Constructivism all the way to Dadaist word-pictures with critical commentaries about contemporary history and politics.
Three Bremen Collectors and the Journey of Their Collections during National Socialism
22 October 2014 - 4 January 2015
Provenance research, namely an investigation concerning the histories and journeys of works of art, including their previous owners, has long been a concern of German museums, not only since the spectacular discovery of pictures in Munich during 2013. For three years, a research project has been under way at the Kunsthalle Bremen concerning approximately 120 works from the collection. An examination was made as to whether these paintings, drawings and sculptures had possibly been stolen from persecuted Jewish owners between 1933 and 1945. The research revealed the fascinating journeys of these works as well as the biographies and activities of the Bremen art dealers and collectors Arnold Blome, Heinrich Glosemeyer and Hugo Oelze. A chapter of Bremen's artistic and cultural history, until now concealed in darkness, has thereby been brought to light.
The Kunsthalle Bremen is presenting the results of its research in a comprehensive exhibition in which paintings and drawings from the Middle Ages to modern art are on display. Furthermore, the collector and dealer Arnold Blome will be revealed for the first time to a wider public as an artist in his own right. His oeuvre extends from Expressionism through Constructivism all the way to Dadaist word-pictures with critical commentaries about contemporary history and politics.