Pictures tell stories

I am often asked: What exactly is provenance research? Or, more practically: What does a provenance researcher actually do? And sometimes, quite simply: Why do you do this?

Why Provenance Research?

The last question is the easiest for me to answer: because it is incredibly exciting. Provenance research is detective work—a search for small pieces of a puzzle that bring us closer to the truth. It requires meticulous investigation in archives, libraries, and on the objects themselves, among many other sources.

The word “provenance” comes from the Latin provenire, meaning “to come from” or “to originate.” Provenance researchers trace the origins of artworks. In art historical terms, provenance is defined as “the history of the ownership of an object, including its presence in important private collections” (Jaquet, 1962: Werte und Preise auf dem Weltmarkt neuzeitlicher Kunst, p. 87). Provenance research aims to reconstruct, as completely as possible, the sequence of ownership and the relationships between owners.

Every picture, every work of art tells a story—not only through what it depicts (for example, an allegorical scene), but also through its own journey. Who owned it? Who bought it, and why? In what context was it displayed? Where was it exhibited? Who saw it, and who wrote about it? To whom was it given, and for what purpose? The object itself holds clues that help reconstruct these histories. As a provenance researcher, I uncover and tell these stories.

Provenance Research and Nazi-Looted Art

Provenance research becomes particularly important when it concerns artworks that changed hands during the Nazi era. Even today, nearly 80 years after the end of the war, many cases remain unresolved. The debate surrounding the Gurlitt case has shown that the issue of Nazi-confiscated cultural property—often referred to as Nazi-looted art—as well as artworks displaced during the war, is far from settled.

The “Lost Art” database, maintained by the German Lost Art Foundation (Deutsches Zentrum Kulturgutverluste), lists numerous cases—many involving artworks formerly owned by Jewish collectors—that have been missing since the Nazi era. Museums still face restitution claims from the heirs of those persecuted under the Nazi regime. Many former owners were victims of the Holocaust; their possessions entered museums, the art market, and private collections. At the same time, there are works listed in the database that are known to be looted, but for which no heirs have yet been identified.

For a long time, provenance research into acquisitions made between 1933 and 1945 played only a minor role in Germany. This began to change in the 1990s, particularly following the Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art in 1998. Since then, provenance research has gained increasing importance. Step by step, positions for provenance researchers have been established in German museums, supported by public funding.

Today, many museums employ full-time provenance researchers who investigate individual objects and how they entered collections. This makes it possible to examine at least parts of museum holdings in terms of acquisition circumstances during the Nazi era and, where necessary, to initiate restitution processes. Since 2015, these efforts have been further strengthened by the establishment of the German Lost Art Foundation—also a response to growing public awareness following the Gurlitt case.

This issue affects museums, art dealers, private collectors, and the heirs of victims worldwide—wherever artworks were in Germany during the Nazi era. And it will remain relevant until all cases are resolved, until all stories have been told.

This is where I see my role: contributing to clarifying the origins of artworks that were taken from their Jewish owners between 1933 and 1945. This kind of detective work is my passion.