(Q59192187)
Statements
1886
1 reference
Raphaël, Louis, Félix GERARD (1886_1963), marchard de tableaux, 4 avenue de Messine, paris VIIIe, et son frère Christian Gérard (1917_?), 6, rue Labie, Paris XVIIe, vendent aux Allemands de nombreux tableaux et oeuvres d'art (French)
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On ne sait pas plus la façon dont Les Baigneuses sont arrivées en possession du marchand Raphaël Gérard, condamné après la Libération pour ses nombreuses ventes à des musées allemands. «La majorité des œuvres présentes ici ont un passé mystérieux, commente Isabelle Le Masne de Chermont, conservateur général et commissaire de l'exposition. Une seule certitude : l'acquisition des Baigneuses démontre que Ribbentrop avait un goût très sûr. C'est aujourd'hui l'un des chefs-d'œuvre du Musée d'Orsay.» (French)
Around 1932, Raphaël moved the gallery to 4 avenue de Messine under the name Galerie Raphaël Gérard although the name Gérard Frères or “aux galeries Raphaël Gérard” were sometimes used. The gallery specialized in the Barbizon school, Impressionists and contemporary masters, but also bought and sold Old Masters paintings by Caravaggio, Veronese, or Rubens. The gallery was an important place of business, as works of art moved across Europe to new owners in the United States at an unprecedented rate. Raphaël’s business flourished during World War II and the Nazi occupation: he bought and sold many paintings, some as famous as Claude Monet’s Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe or Paul Gauguin’s Christ Jaune. He allegedly traded confiscated artworks and was thus indicted by the French Government after the war for collaborationist activities and was fined for illegal enrichment (see Pandora Langlais’s Art Dealings in Times of War: The Records of Raphaël Gérard) (English)
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This work was one of over 70 works with the art dealer Raphaël Gerard in Paris in 1944. It isunclear whether at the time Gerard and/or Gurlitt owned or co-owned these works, whether theyhad been placed on commission, or indeed simply deposited with Gerard. It is conspicuous that aninventory of works with Gerard was drawn up in the very late stages of the war; one possiblehypothesis is that Gurlitt placed for safekeeping with Gerard works that he had acquired inoccupied Paris, with the intention of moving these objects at a later date. (English)
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Gérard war einen der Grossen Vermittler geraubter Kunst an deutsche Käufer, nach der Krieg erhebt die französiche Regierung Klage gegen ihn. (German)
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Raphaël and his brother Christian Alfred Valère Gérard ran “Gérard Frères” in Paris (1911–1932). See “Bio and History,” Galerie Félix Gérard and Galerie Raphaël Gérard Records, ca. 1899–1959, Wildenstein Plattner Institute, New York and Paris, (English)
1 reference
Commissioned from the artist by Madame Jeanne Louise Guérin, Paris, 7 Apr. 1917, 1,500 francs. Jos Hessel, Paris, 1936. Raphael Gérard, Paris, by May 1938 [Paris 1938]. Galerie Carre, Paris. E. & A. Silberman Galleries, New York, by 1954 [advertisement, Art News Annual, 23 (1954), p. 180 (ill.)]. Nathan Cummings, Chicago. Sara Lee Corporation. Given to the Art Institute, 1986. (English)
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Gerard, Raphael Louis Felix. Paris, 4 ave de Messine. Dealt in confiscated pictures; main source of supply to Wuester and other German buyers. Indicted by French Government (Seine Tribunal, Judge Frapier). (English)