The new extension to the Kunsthaus Zürich has been home to an impressive collection of French art since it opened in 2021. However, a shadow hangs over the illustrious works, which the private Bührle Foundation has loaned to the publicly funded museum on a permanent basis (see “Swiss Review” 2/2022). Industrialist Emil G. Bührle (1890–1956) made his fortune through arms sales to buyers that included Nazi Germany. A keen collector of art, Bührle acquired paintings that Jews had previously been forced to sell for financial reasons as the Nazis closed in.
Criticism of the Kunsthaus has been unrelenting ever since the permanent loan of Bührle’s paintings began. There was hardly any let-up even when the Kunsthaus began providing a more candid account of the exhibition’s historical context in 2023. Critics continue to lament what they believe is an inadequate appreciation of the perspective of the victims of National Socialism.
The saga took a surprising turn in June 2024, when the Bührle Foundation withdrew five paintings from the collection. Efforts are ongoing to reach a “fair and just solution” for these works with the legal heirs of the former owners, it said.
Two options include returning the paintings or paying monetary compensation. The masterpieces are currently in storage. Explanatory notes explain to visitors why there are gaps on the museum wall. A sixth painting – “Young Woman in Oriental Garb” by Edouard Manet – remains in the exhibition, but the heirs of the painting’s previous Jewish owner are to receive a “symbolic settlement”.
This has done little to dampen the controversy. An independent report by historian Raphael Gross has found the Bührle Foundation’s provenance research to be inadequate, saying that the foundation’s published findings relating to a total of 205 works fall short of current standards. Gross and his team discovered that significantly more works were in Jewish ownership than previously thought: 62 instead of the 41 noted by the foundation. Further inquiries still have to ascertain how many of these paintings belonged to Jews who were pressured to sell amid Nazi persecution.
Pictures: Kunsthaus Zürich, Emil Bührle Collection
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