The Matisse in the Gurlitt apartment
A painting looted from Paul Rosenberg re-emerged in a collection hidden from public view.
Femme assise dans un fauteuil belonged to art dealer Paul Rosenberg before Nazi looting removed it from his collection. Its long absence became part of his family’s continuing effort to recover dispersed works.
The painting was discovered in Cornelius Gurlitt’s Munich apartment in 2012. The discovery became public in 2013. A specialist task force investigated provenance and established the basis for returning the Matisse.
The Rosenberg family received the painting on 15 May 2015. This documented return concerns one specific work. It does not establish that every object in the much larger Gurlitt holdings had been looted or was restituted.
Artwork Details & DocumentationIdentification, ownership history and supporting records
Individual artwork identification details have not yet been documented in this record. Missing specifications are not inferred from the photograph or report headline.
Not documented in this record: object type · materials & technique · measurements · inscriptions & markings · distinguishing features · artwork title · maker / attribution · creation date / period · subject.
Record sources
Identification details follow the Object ID categories where documented. Ownership history is recorded separately; this documentation is not an authentication or a certificate of ownership.
Documentary sources
- The Art Newspaper: completed restitution, 15 May 2015 ↗
- Taskforce Schwabinger Kunstfund: provenance report ↗
An original ArtTraceX synthesis. Sources checked .