Gurlitt. Status Report

The Kunstmuseum Bern is showing some 160 works, most of which were confiscated from German collections during the «Degenerate Art» operation in 1937 and 1938. These holdings mostly consist of works on paper, featuring outstanding works of Expressionism, Constructivism and Verism. The artists represented include artists such as Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Franz Marc and Otto Dix. At the same time the exhibition examines the political processes which led to the modern art as being defamed as «degenerate», and consequently destroyed and sold. Particular attention is paid to the fate of artists who found themselves facing kangaroo courts and persecution. The crucial historical events are placed in a direct relationship with the historical figure of Hildebrand Gurlitt (Cornelius’ father), with all his contradictions: documents and papers from his estate tell us about the development of the museum director and advocate of modern art into one of the most important art dealers in the «Third Reich».
The exhibition also gives us, through the Studio Provenance Research, the opportunity to acquaint ourselves with the field of provenance research which has come into prominence with the «Gurlitt art trove.