SPURENSICHERUNG. Die Geschichte(n) hinter den Werken

What impact did the National Socialist dictatorship, the Second World War and the division of Germany have on the history of ownership of artworks, books and cultural assets? The exhibition provides insights into the detective work and methods of provenance research, identifies Nazi-looted art that is now part of the Akademie’s holdings.

Other aspects are the search and reacquisition of artworks from the collection of the Prussian Akademie der Künste that were lost during the Second World War and the critical reappraisal of the efforts of the GDR state apparatus to take possession of valuable art objects.

The starting points of the exhibition are new findings about the manuscripts by Walter Benjamin, remnants of the library of Alfred Kerr confiscated by the Gestapo, lost oil sketches by Carl Blechen and Otto Nagel’s art collection. The exhibition is accompanied by an events programme with panel discussions, various educational offers, as well as a publication with in-depth essays and object biographies of the exhibited artworks.

SPURENSICHERUNG. Die Geschichte(n) hinter den Werken
29.10.2022 – 22.01.2023
Akademie der Künste, Pariser Platz 4, 10117 Berlin

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