BERLIN (WJC)–The German government said Wednesday that a Camille Pissarro painting from the trove hoarded by the late collector Cornelius Gurlitt had been looted by the Nazis and would be returned to its rightful owner’s descendants.
The taskforce entrusted with checking the provenance of the 1,500 works left by Gurlitt, who died in May 2014, has already found that works by Max Liebermann, Henri Matisse and Carl Spitzweg were looted. Restitution agreements for the first two were signed last month.
The Culture Ministry said Wednesday that experts had established without doubt that Pissarro’s “The Seine seen from the Pont-Neuf, the Louvre in the background” was also looted. It is in touch with the owner’s heir, whom it didn’t identify, with a view to restitution “as quickly as possible.”
A Swiss museum that accepted Gurlitt’s collection has promised to ensure any Nazi-looted pieces are returned to Jewish owners’ heirs.
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Preceding provided by the World Jewish Congress
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