BERLIN — Germany has returned a painting by renowned 19th-century German landscape artist Carl Blechen to the heirs of Jewish collectors from whom it was seized by the Nazis in 1942. The artwork, “The Valley of Mills near Amalfi” (circa 1830), was originally acquired by Dr. D.H. Goldschmidt in Berlin and was intended for Adolf Hitler’s unrealized Führermuseum in Linz, Austria.
Carl Blechen, known for his Romantic depictions of natural landscapes, was a contemporary of Caspar David Friedrich and is celebrated for his artistic contributions to 19th-century German Romanticism. The painting, completed after Blechen’s trip to Italy, was inherited by Goldschmidt’s sons, Arthur and Eugen, following his death.
The art collection of the Goldschmidt family faced tragic events following the November pogroms of 1938, known as Kristallnacht. Both Arthur and Eugen Goldschmidt took their own lives, and their collection was later passed to their nephew, Edgar Moor. Moor had emigrated to Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1938 and eventually settled in the United States, where he lived until his death in 1994.
In July 1942, the Gestapo seized the artworks from the Berlin apartment of the Goldschmidt brothers. The recent restitution of Blechen’s painting marks a significant step in addressing historical injustices related to Nazi-era looting.
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