Sculptures confiscated by Nazis to be displayed.

[LongTomH]

Source: BBC News

The 11 pieces of art, which date back from the early 20th Century, were discovered on a building site in the city centre last year.

They belonged to a collection of 15,000 works which Hitler's regime dubbed "degenerate art".

The statues were found during a dig to lay down a new underground train line.

The terracotta and bronze statues were criticised by Hitler's regime for containing "deviant" sexual elements and anti-nationalistic themes.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11716446

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BBC News also has a gallery of some of the banned pieces at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11717456

[Coventina]

1. As an art historian, this is one of my areas of interest: art under Fascism.

For those interested in the subject of the Nazis and art, I highly recommend the book/movie: The Rape of Europa.

[naaman fletcher]

2. looks fascinating

thanks for the recommendation I will order.

[Hissyspit]

4. It is. I just happened to come across it on televison one day.

PBS or some such. Look for the expanded edition when you order.

[Hissyspit]

3. I bought the expanded version. Very, very fascinating.

[Coventina]

7. Curses! I don't think I have that version!

I bought it almost immediately when it came out on DVD, after having seen it in the theatre.

So I probably have the theatrical version only. (Can't check on it at the moment, as I put it on reserve in my college's library for my students).

[Hissyspit]

8. It's not cheap:

http://www.amazon.com/Rape-Europa-Collectors-Joan-Allen/dp/B001LIP8MA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1289335645&sr=1-2

[Coventina]

9. More profanities! I don't have that version, nor can I afford it!

Thanks for making me aware of it, though!

I can put it on the "wish list" for the college to buy. Then maybe I can take my copy home....

[Dappleganger]

16. It's available for streaming on Netflix...

not sure which version.

[herbm]

5. What an amazing gift. This is art.

[Hissyspit]

6. Entartete Kunst

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degenerate_art

Avant-garde German artists were now branded both enemies of the state and a threat to German culture. Many went into exile. Max Beckmann fled to Amsterdam on the opening day of the entartete Kunst exhibit.<30> Max Ernst emigrated to America with the assistance of Peggy Guggenheim. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner committed suicide in Switzerland in 1938. Paul Klee spent his years in exile in Switzerland, yet was unable to obtain Swiss citizenship because of his status as a degenerate artist.

Other artists remained in internal exile. Otto Dix retreated to the countryside to paint unpeopled landscapes in a meticulous style that would not provoke the authorities.<31> The Reichskulturkammer forbade artists such as Edgar Ende and Emil Nolde from purchasing painting materials. Those who remained in Germany were forbidden to work at universities and were subject to surprise raids by the Gestapo in order to ensure that they were not violating the ban on producing artwork; Nolde secretly carried on painting, but using only watercolors (so as not to be betrayed by the telltale odor of oil paint).<32> Although no artists were put to death because of their work, those of Jewish descent who did not escape from Germany in time were sent to concentration camps.<33>

After the exhibit, paintings were sorted out for sale and sold in Switzerland at auction; some pieces were acquired by museums, others by private collectors. Nazi officials took many for their private use: for example, Hermann Göring took fourteen valuable pieces, including a Van Gogh and a Cézanne. In March, 1939, the Berlin Fire Brigade burned approximately 4000 works which had little value on the international market.<34><35>

A large amount of 'degenerate art' by Picasso, Dalí, Ernst, Klee, Léger and Miró was destroyed in a bonfire on the night of July 27, 1942 in the gardens of the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume in Paris.<36>

[Coventina]

10. Nolde was an odd case. He was a devoted Expressionist as well as a Nazi.

He joined the party early in its history, only to have it turn against him once it assumed power.

Have you seen the PBS production "Entartete Kunst"? It was made as a companion to the anniversary show LACMA put on of all the surviving works from the original German exhibit that survived and could be obtained for the show in the early 90s. It's an hour long, and unfortunately is no longer available for sale. But it has fascinating interviews from people who attended the original German exhibit. We have an ancient VHS copy in our library, it's in bad condition, and our librarian tells us it can't be replaced.

:cry:

[jonthebru]

11. Imagine:

These pieces may have been destroyed in bombing attacks if the crazy frickin' NAZI's hadn't confiscated them and buried them...

A similar thing will occur if the Fundamentalists take control and create their Theocratic rule.

[Coventina]

12. Not quite sure about the point you are making, so correct me if I'm wrong:

But, the Nazis put the work in danger in the first place by waging war against their neighbors and murdering their own citizens.

I mourn the fact that our bombs destroyed many priceless works of art during WWII, but never for a moment do I think that the blame lies anywhere but with the Nazis.

[XemaSab]

13. I get what he's saying

He's saying that it's ironic that in their efforts to destroy these scuptures, the Nazis actually wound up preserving them from Allied bombs.

[Coventina]

14. I wasn't trying to be mean or difficult. I just didn't quite understand

the post. A failure on my part I'm more than willing to admit.

I've been up since 3am and it's been a long day...

:hi:

on edit: headed for home & bed right now!!!

[XemaSab]

17. .

:pals:

[maxsolomon]

15. Ars Longa, Nazi Brevis

nt

[xchrom]

18. What I wouldn't give to see these pieces. Nt