Provenance Research

Eugène Delacroix, Le lion et le serpent, 1856

Eugène Delacroix
Le  lion et le serpent, 1856
Museum Folkwang, Essen

In 1998, the so-called Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art were passed. With the Declaration of the Federal Government, the Laender and the leading municipal organisations on locating and returning art confiscated as a result of Nazi persecution made in 1999, publicly owned museums declared they intended to examine their acquisitions policy in the years 1933−1945 and through to the present day. Museum Folkwang is actively researching its own history and the holdings in its collections.

Holdings from colonial contexts are also being examined as many of the works in the collection come from Africa, Asia, South America, and the Arab world. These objects present us with new, complex challenges that can have a bearing on issues in society today. 

The results of our research are regularly presented as part of public events and in scholarly publications.

 

Collection Project

In connection with creating an office for provenance research, since 2016 Museum Folkwang has conducted systematic research into the origin of items in the collection. Painting, sculptures and prints are examined but also objects from Africa, the Arab world, Asia, and South America that form the basis of the collection.

Histories of a Collection

Since 2019, provenance research has been firmly anchored in the new presentation of the collection – with a hall devoted solely to this area of research, and a series of publications. The current status of provenance research is explained by means of selected works in the collection presentation.

Benin Dialogue Group & Digital Benin Project

Das Museum Folkwang besitzt eine Bronze aus dem Königreich Benin. Benin-Bronzen werden die Metallplatten und Skulpturen genannt, die den Königspalast im Benin schmückten. Infolge der Kolonialisierung wurden sie 1897 durch das Vereinigte Königreich als Beutekunst nach Europa gebracht. Das Museum Folkwang ist Teil der Benin Dialogue Group, eine Arbeitsgruppe bestehend aus westeuropäischen Museen und Repräsentanten der nigerianischen Regierung, sowie des Benin Digital Project, ein Projekt zur digitalen Zusammenführung der nigerianischen königlichen Kunstschätze, das vom Museum am Rothenbaum – Kulturen und Künste der Welt (MARKK) in Hamburg initiiert wurde.

Nach Unterzeichnung der Gemeinsamen Erklärung zur Rückgabe von Benin-Bronzen und bilateralen Museumskooperation am 1. Juli 2022 zwischen den Bundesrepubliken Deutschland und Nigeria werden zurzeit Rückgabevereinbarungen geschlossen.

Weitere Informationen finden Sie unter digitalbenin.org

Ongoing and completed Research Projects