#rosevalland

[silvanaabram]

#rosevalland (1898 - 1980). Storica dell'arte, anticonformista conservatrice presso la Galleria nazionale del #jeudepaume di Parigi, prende appunti giorno dopo giorno durante i 4 anni di occupazione nazista. Tiene accurata nota dei capolavori rubati dai nazisti nei musei francesi - presso le famiglie ebree, e accumulati nel Jeu de Paume in attesa di essere trasferiti in Germania. Si parla di almeno 100.000 opere. Rischiando la vita e grazie al suo dettagliato lavoro di detective, riusci' a individuare l'elenco dei depositi delle opere d'arte trafugate in Germania. Così - dopo la guerra, parte dei capolavori rubati - 60.000 opere furono riacquisite. Rose cataloga oltre 80.000 opere rubate e destinate alla restituzione, ai legittimi proprietari o eredi e ai Paesi aventi diritto. Lascia un patrimonio di 900 cataloghi dei cosiddetti MNR, (Musei nazionali recupero) testimonianza preziosa delle opere, per gli aventi diritto 🌹 Per incontrare la storia di questa straordinaria donna, esperta e amante dell'arte - vedi skyarte - Rose Valland, Spia per amore dell'arte 🖤 #arte #art #storiadellarte #pernondimenticare #artcurator #paris #europe #extraordinarypeople #influencer #woman #resistence #restitution #museum #justice https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn7zFAgrCsD/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[gpwatson]

Inktober day 22-Rose Valland

[themonumentsmen-blog]

Rose Valland was very reluctant to hand over her notes to the Monuments Men because she was afraid that the Americans would keep the work for themselves (Hunting). James Rorimer worked to develop a trusting relationship with Valland. She was finally convinced to share her records, however, she had one stipulation. The majority of the work was located in Germany and Rose wanted James to be there himself in order to ensure the recovery and return of these artworks to France (Hunting). Rose invited James over for dinner to share this information with him. As James sat at the table, Rose presented him with stacks of paper and photographs (Hunting). These papers contained the most important piece of information, the location of the repositories where the Nazi’s stored the looted art (Hunting).

With this information, Rorimer was able to locate one of the largest repositories, Neuschwanstein Castle in the Bavarian Alps (Hunting). Inside were more than 20,000 stolen treasures including paintings by Ruben, Rembrandt, and Gainsborough (Monuments). This was one of the main locations of looted art from Jews in France (Hunting). Even more importantly, the castle contained the Nazi theft catalog outlining all of the pieces that they had looted and all the works they were planning on lootings (Hunting). The records also contained information on where the stolen art had come from, who they belonged to, and where they were destined for (Hunting). This was a breakthrough in the Monuments Men’s efforts by Valland and Rorimer.

Hunting Hitler's Stolen Treasure: The Monuments Men [Television broadcast]. (2014, February 10). National Geographic. Retrieved November 6, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2MSmogbyC8

The Monuments Men. (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2016, from http://www.monumentsmenfoundation.org/the-heroes/the-monuments-men/

[themonumentsmen-blog]

Captain Rose Valland was a highly educated and experienced young woman. She earned two degrees, one of them in Art History, from the Ecole Des Beaux-Art in Lyon and also studied at the Ecole in Paris (Monuments). Her career at the Jeu de Paume began as an unpaid volunteer, however, when the official curator fell ill, Rose became the assistant curator (Monuments). As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, the Jeu de Paume museum became the headquarters for the ERR during the occupation of Paris (Monuments). They would use this museum to store paintings and other artwork stolen from other museums and private French collectors, mainly Jews. It was layover point for artwork on their way to their final destination, Germany. The Nazi’s did not see her as a threat, so they allowed her to stay at the museum during the occupation. The ERR thought she was just monitoring building maintenance, heat, and electricity, however, little did they know that she was conspiring against them (Hunting). Valland understood German, a fact which she kept secret from the Nazi’s (what a clever spy) (Hunting). This was probably another reason that the ERR did not see her as a threat, how can a woman who does not even understand German pose any danger to such a powerful institution, the Nazi’s. Because she was able to understand German, she was privy, unbeknownst to the Nazi’s, of critical information regarding the stolen art. She kept accurate records “on destinations of train car shipments filled with looted art” (Monuments). These records were “treasure maps leading to the discovery of multiple repositories” (Monuments). Rose relayed this information to the French Resistance, however, the Monuments Men also wanted access to these documents. James Rorimer was assigned with the task of retrieving these documents from Rose Valland, but it would not be so simple.

Hunting Hitler's Stolen Treasure: The Monuments Men [Television broadcast]. (2014, February 10). National Geographic. Retrieved November 6, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2MSmogbyC8

The Monuments Men. (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2016, from http://www.monumentsmenfoundation.org/the-heroes/the-monuments-men/