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The restitution of cultural assets expropriated during the Nazi era remains a key task for museums in Germany. The case of the painting St. Anne with the Child and St. John the Baptist, attributed to Lucas Cranach the Elder, exemplifies the historical, legal and ethical challenges involved in returning works of art acquired in the context of persecution. On the basis of a comprehensive review of the provenance and taking into account the new assessment framework for dealing with Nazi-looted art, the Bavarian State Painting Collections have decided to return the work to the heirs of Ernst Magnus. The process illustrates both the development of restitution practice and the institutional responsibility for dealing with the legacy of Nazism in a transparent and critical manner.
Return of a painting from the circle of Lucas Cranach the Elder
The Bavarian State Painting Collections are returning the painting ‘St. Anne with the Child and St. Elizabeth’ (c. 1522–1525), from the circle of Lucas Cranach the Elder, to the heirs of Ernst Magnus (Hanover).
The small-format work was consigned by Ernst Magnus to the Fischer Gallery in Lucerne in 1940 and sold to Hermann Göring in 1941 through the art dealer Walter Andreas Hofer. After the end of the Second World War, the American Allies secured the painting at the Central Collecting Point and initially handed it over to …
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Image above: Lucas Cranach d. Ä. (Anonymer Schüler), Hl. Anna Selbdritt, um 1522-1525 Buchenholz (Fagus sp.), Ausflickung Falz Nadelholz, 32 x 25 cm Photo: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, Sibylle Forster
