The Cornelius Gurlitt Legacy
Provenance Research on the Cornelius Gurlitt Legacy at the Kunstmuseum Bern
The Gurlitt Estate
The database provides access to the entire estate of Cornelius Gurlitt (1932–2014).
To the online database Works of the Cornelius Gurlitt bequest on view
Current projects
Provenance Research on Artworks of the Cornelius Gurlitt Legacy (Works with unclarified Provenance; Priority 1: Yellow-Red)
Project Management:
Dr. Nikola Doll
Scientific Associates:
Dr. Gitta Ho
Katharina Otterbach, M. A.
Ev-Isabel Raue, M. A.
Completed Projects
Provenance Research on Artworks of the German Modernists (Project Phase 2: 9.2020 – 8.2022)
In collaboration with the Forschungsstelle “Entartete Kunst” at the University of Hamburg provenance research continues on German Modernist art belonging to the Cornelius Gurlitt Estate. The research focuses on artworks presumably removed from museums during the “Degenerate Art” campaign, as well as artworks for which preliminary research was unable to confirm a confiscation in the “Degenerate Art” campaign. The state of knowledge is continuously updated and can be viewed in the GURLITT ESTATE database online. Results of the context research will be published in the book: “Hildebrand Gurlitt und die Moderne” in September 2022.
Project Management:
Dr. Nikola Doll
Scientific Associates:
Dr. des. Maike Brüggen
Katharina Otterbach, M. A.
Provenance Research on Artworks of the Cornelius Gurlitt Legacy (Works with Unclarified Provenance; Priority 1: Yellow-Red) (Project Phase 1: 9.2020 – 6.2021)
Project Management:
Dr. Nikola Doll
Scientific Associates:
Dr. Gitta Ho
Dr. Marcus Leifeld
Dr. Britta Olenyi von Husen
Ev-Isabel Raue, M. A.
Documentation and Standardized Referencing of Provenance Characteristics
Since 2018, the Departments for Provenance Research and Restauration-Conservation have developed standards for documentation of provenance characteristics. The HKB – Bern University of Applied Sciences supports the project.
Project Management:
Dr. Nikola Doll
Scientific Associates:
Dorothea Spitza, M. A. Restauratorin
Silja Meyer, M. A. (9.2018 – 8.2021)
Provenance Research an Artworks Removed from Museum Collections by the German Reich as part of the so-called “Degenerate Art” Campaign (1937) (Project Phase 1: 7.2019 – 6.2020)
In collaboration with the Forschungsstelle “Entartete Kunst” and the Liebelt Endowed Professorship for Provenance Research at the Art History Seminar at the University of Hamburg, two associates investigated the provenances of around 400 works by German Modernists belonging to the Gurlitt Estate.
Project Management:
Dr. Nikola Doll, Kunstmuseum Bern
Prof. Dr. Gesa Vietzen, Endowed Professorship for Provenance Research of the Liebelt-Stiftung, University of Hamburg
Scientific Associates (2019 – 2020):
Silja Meyer, M. A. (Bern)
Nadine Vehling, M. A. (Hamburg)
Studio Gurlitt 2017
By August 2017, some 240 artworks of the Cornelius Gurlitt Estate had been inspected as to material-related properties and conserved, enabling them to be presented in the exhibit, Gurlitt Status Report (2017 – 2019). Damage was discovered due to conservationally unsuitable, non-archival mounting and the infestation of microorganisms. For the graphic prints, the paper-quality affected the state of preservation. Material-technical investigations marked the beginning of a consistent documentation of the Cornelius Gurlitt Estate.
Kunstmuseum Bern
Project Management:
Dr. Nathalie Bäschlin
Scientific Associates:
Philine Claussen, M. A., Restorer
Katja Friese, M. A., Restorer
Dorothea Spitza, M. A., Restorer
Josefine Werthmann, M. A., Restorer
External Restorers:
Patrick Lüthi, M. A., Restorer
Sandra Winkelmann, M. A., Restorer
Students of the HKB – Bern University of Applied Sciences:
Anna Aegerter
Lena Zinniker
Eva Aebersold
Provenance categories
The Kunstmuseum Bern’s categorization of provenance-research findings is intended to facilitate decisions about relinquishing ownership of particular works, and to contribute to a fair and mutually agreeable resolution with the claimants in still-unclarified provenance cases.
Read moreResearch on the Museum Collection
Provenance research is concerned with the circumstances of ownership-transfer for individual artworks and the history of the collection.
Read more