During World War Two the Nazi’s plundered hundreds of thousands of works of art from families in many of the countries they invaded. After the war, some works of art were recovered while some, to this day, have unknown whereabouts. One piece that was lost is a painting created by Vincent van Gogh titled Painter on the Road to Tarascon. When Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, one of the first goals he accomplished was to rid the German people of “degenerate art”---modern artistic works that were created by any artist, past or present, who was not of Aryan blood and thus regarded as degenerate. Artists who fell into this category had works stolen and some destroyed. Those whose works were not destroyed were collected into a museum only showcasing degenerate art. Works included pieces from Alexander Archipenko, Marc Chagail, James Ensor, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh’s Painter on the Road of Tarascon, was one of the most famous paintings burned during World War II. It is believed that it was burned when Allied forces bombed Magdeburg, setting fire to the Kaiser-Friedrich Museum, which contained stolen art.
The theft the Painter on the Road to Tarascon, left a lasting impression. It remains one of the “most cherished pieces of art that was lost in the war”. The painting was a great influence on artist Francis Bacon, who described it as “a haunting image of van Gogh, showing him as an alienated outsider”. Vincent van Gogh was quoted as saying “Real painters do not paint things as they are…They paint them as they themselves feel them to be”. The painting was valued greatly because it was created by world-renowned artist van Gogh, and because it was a terrible casualty during the war. Van Gogh portrayed art as he saw it and such genuineness was appreciated and regarded highly by the art world.
When the Nazi’s stole works of art, the theft represented much more than art worth millions lost---it represented the theft of a people’s culture, heritage, peace of mind, identity, and existence. Throughout the war, Hitler and his men tried to eradicate the existence of degenerate and inferior races from Europe. He burned historical architecture, churches, castles, and looted artwork, furniture, and more to remove that nation from existence. When the art was returned it served as a mechanism of reinstatement. It reinstated a nation, showing the world that they were still in existence and that they had survived. These lost pieces were highly coveted. The value on the art market had increased exponentially because the pieces were victims and some were survivors of war. People valued these treasures as pieces that withstood Hitler’s barbarity. The theft of Painter on the Road to Tarascon, like many other works of art, represented the attempt to erase a culture. However, despite its physical loss, the memory and impact is not lost. It will remain an influential piece of art, that later influenced another artist to create his own works of art.
Painter on the Road to Tarascon by Vincent van Gogh
References:
http://www.toptenz.net/10-famous-pieces-of-art-stolen-by-the-nazis.php
http://movies.netflix.com/WiPlayer?movieid=70079691&trkid=2450709
This is a very interesting side of World War II to see. In all my history classes, I had only heard of the holocaust and how the Nazi’s terrorized countries, and the Jewish non-Aryan population. I hadn’t heard about the art plundered. Another thing I founding interesting was that many of the cities that were attacked, had art that Hitler either coveted or hated and wanted destroyed. This list was created even before the cities were attacked so it’s very interesting to see that aspect of why Hitler attacked regions he attacked.
Interesting Links:
http://www.museum-security.org/ww2/
http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/Art-Stolen-by-Hitler-Found-at-SMU-Meadows-Museum-93695214.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/27/sunday/main3755983.shtml