Munich – Germany has signed an agreement to return to its rightful owner an Henri Matisse painting that was seized under Nazi rule.
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Matisse’s “Woman Sitting in an Armchair” was part of a trove of artworks found in the apartment of late collector Cornelius Gurlitt.
Experts say the painting was taken from art dealer Paul Rosenberg and rightfully belongs to his descendants.
Culture Minister Monika Gruetters’ office confirmed a report in German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Wednesday that she signed the agreement.
A similar agreement was signed last week for a painting by Max Liebermann.
Both agreements must be approved by a Munich court handling Gurlitt’s inheritance.
A Swiss museum that accepted Gurlitt’s bequest of his collection has promised to ensure any Nazi-looted pieces are returned to their Jewish owners’ heirs.
Maybe some justice will be done here. But Cornelius Gurlitt was not the “art collector”. His nazi father, Hildebrand Gurlitt, may his name be blotted out, was the collector and henchman. He helped the nazi brass steal, collect, inventory and hide vast collections of art and treasures stolen from Yidden during the Shoah. Son Cornelius never worked a day in his life, but made money from selling off a few pieces of art (Picasso, Monet, Rembrandt, Matisse, etc) every year, to live his degraded lifestyle. Thousands of pieces of art worth hundreds of million$$ were accidentally discovered in a few apartments and storage garages belonging to Cornelius a few years ago. Now a few pieces are returning to the heirs of the deceased, from museums in Germany & Switzerland which ended up with the collections in 2013. Feh on the Gurlitt name, who by the way, came from a mixed Jewish family.