A look back at two disputed paintings from the Langmatt Museum

The Langmatt Museum in Baden, Switzerland – the former villa of the industrial couple Jenny (1871-1968) and Sidney Brown (1865-1941), where their collection is exhibited – published, Thursday November 28, 2024, the results of a provenance research project carried out from 2022 to 2024. This project was carried out in collaboration with the expert office Lange & Schmutz and supported by the Federal Office of Culture between 2023 and 2024. The study focused on 13 paintings, mainly impressionist, acquired by the Brown couple between 1933 and 1940.

An initial search, carried out when the museum opened in 1990, revealed nothing. The investigation concluded in 2024 this time revealed the clearly problematic provenance of two of the thirteen works studied: Fruits and jar of ginger by Paul Cézanne and Fishermen’s wives on Berck beach by Eugène Boudin.

Research revealed that Fruits and jar of ginger had probably been sold under duress in 1933. A document, found in archives in Cologne, indicates that it belonged to the Jewish art dealer Jacob Goldschmidt (1896-1976). The museum does not know if the Brown couple knew the origin of the painting at the time of their purchase in 1933.

In 2023, the Langmatt Museum, in financial difficulty, decided to put three paintings by Cézanne on sale, including Fruits and jar of ginger. At the same time, the museum had concluded an agreement with the heirs of the former owner of the painting which was sold on November 9, 2023 for 33.5 million dollars (approximately 31.4 million euros). The amount of compensation was not communicated.

Information on the provenance of Eugène Boudin’s painting was reported in 2024. The investigation, conducted by Lange & Schmutz, revealed that the painting appeared in the LostArt database of the Deutsches Zentrum für Kulturverluste in 2022. It was previously owned to the Jewish industrialist and collector Richard Semmel (1875-1950). The latter had to flee to Amsterdam in 1933 because of Nazi persecution. In 1936, the Brown couple purchased the painting from the Moos gallery in Geneva. Here too the museum concluded an agreement with the heirs of Richard Semmel: the painting remains in the possession of the museum and will be exhibited there.

In the 2000s, the Swiss Federal Council created the Office of Looted Art, attached to the Federal Office of Culture. Since 2016, this office has supported museums in researching the provenance of works and publishing the results. Between 2023 and 2024, 14 Swiss museums received total support of 907,000 Swiss francs (approximately €932,000). The Langmatt Museum benefited from 21,000 Swiss francs (approximately €21,600), or 70% of the total allocated to research between January 2023 and September 2024.