George Clooney may be better known as an actor than as a director, but his occasional work as a director demonstrates a commendable interest in the less dramatized chapters of American history. His films range from the early days of the NFL to the racial strife in Levittown to the Gong Show The film explores creator Chuck Barris’ questionable past as a CIA assassin. Ten years ago, he Monument MenThe film features an all-star cast including Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, and George Clooney himself as Allied soldiers tasked with recovering a host of art treasures stolen by the Nazis during World War II.
Monument Men Although roughly speaking, Real events;So some of those clips Watch the new “Great Art Explained” video aboveIn it, gallerist and YouTuber James Payne explores how the Nazis plundered Europe’s cultural treasures through his bold, expressionist paintings. Egon Schieleof Ship reflected on the water Its whereabouts remain unknown.
Before the war, the painting was in the collection of Vienna cabaret star Franz Friedrich “Fritz” Grünbaum. Unlike Schiele’s portrait, Ship reflected on the water These artworks were so offensive that they were described as “degenerate art”, but they were nevertheless subject to a systematic theft that the regime called “Aryanization”.
After the Nazis executed the Grünbaums in 1956, 80 percent of their collection was auctioned in Switzerland. It’s unclear how it got there, but it was eventually dispersed widely among institutions and individuals. Ship reflected on the water The painting in question was recorded as having been sold again to an unidentified private collector in 1990, and has not been found since. While this may not be a Hollywood movie ending, art restitution efforts by real Monuments Men continue today. Not that long ago, a German court ordered the return of a formerly Aryanized painting. Portrait of Schiele’s admirer Gustav Klimt It will be returned to the son of its original owner, meaning there is a chance that the lost ship that Schiele painted in Trieste more than a century ago could see the light of day again.
Related Content:
New digital archive contains Egon Schiele’s complete work, with 419 paintings, drawings and sculptures to start the experience.
How Jan van Eyck’s masterpiece, the ‘Ghent Altarpiece’, became the most stolen work of art in history
Explore stolen art from around the world in virtual reality
16,000 artworks censored by the Nazis and labelled ‘degenerate art’: complete historical inventory published online
Great Art Explained: Watch 15-minute introductions to great works by Warhol, Rothko, Kahlo, Picasso, and more
Based in Seoul, Colin MaOnershall Writing and broadcastingHe has written papers on cities, languages, and cultures, and his projects include the Substack newsletter. Books about cities And books A city without a state: Walking through 21st-century Los Angeles. Follow us on Twitter CollinhamOnershall or Facebook.
