The Louvre Taps Sotheby’s To Help Uncover Looted Artworks In Its Collection

The Louvre has teamed up with auction house Sotheby’s to investigate artworks acquired by the museum between 1933 and 1945, in an attempt to uncover any looted goods. 

According to Artnet News, the partnership, which will span three years, will see scholars from Sotheby’s restitution department research, digitize, and photograph the artworks, as well as conduct related seminars.

In fact, it appears that the museum had already been making an effort to determine if its collections during World War II has consisted of paintings stolen by Nazis.

The next step was to invite the auction house to help catalog the 13,943 artworks acquired during that time period, as per the Observer.

“This patronage echoes Sotheby’s commitment to the restitution of works that changed hands between 1933 and 1945. It was the first international auction house to have a department dedicated to provenance research and restitution,” the Louvre said in a statement.

Additionally, February 2 will be dedicated to the study of the “chain of transfer of ownership of works and cultural objects in the light of the German Occupation and the Vichy laws,” as well as “purchases at public auction [by] the Egyptian Department of Antiquities between 1933 and 1945.”

[via Artnet News and the Observer, cover image via Dan Breckwoldt | Dreamstime.com]