Gustav Courbet, Grand Pont

Gustav Courbet, “Grand Pont” 

The painting “Grand Pont” by Gustave Courbet was acquired by the Breslau collector Leo Lewin from one of the most famous European art connoisseurs, Marczell von Nemes. Marczell von Nemes, originally from Hungary, amassed an enormous number of artworks initially in Budapest and later in his home in Munich and the Tutzing palace, located on Lake Starnberg in Bavaria. Both properties were adorned with numerous works of craftsmanship and countless canvases by both ancient and contemporary masters, including a large collection of excellent works by impressionists. Von Nemes was also involved in the art trade, facilitated by his numerous connections with artists. One evidence of such connections is the portrait of the collector painted by the renowned expressionist artist Oskar Kokoschka. However, the collector gained fame primarily as an admirer of El Greco. In 1911, an exhibition of eight canvases by this artist, forgotten for centuries, was organized at the Old Pinakothek in Munich, originating from Nemes’s collection. It was the first exhibition of the Spanish genius’s works in Germany and only the third in Europe (following exhibitions in Madrid and Paris). It is not surprising, therefore, that acquiring artworks from such well-known collections elevated the status of Breslau art collections.

The Courbet painting presented here was part of Marczell de Nemes’s collection until 1913 when it was auctioned at the Manzi-Joyant gallery in Paris. It then found its place in the collections of M. Bousquet in Paris and later in the Mandelbaum collection in Berlin. Subsequent owners were the Breslau collectors Leo Lewin and Max Silberberg. The landscape was sold at an auction of Silberberg’s collection in Paul Graupe’s Berlin salon, where it was purchased by Josephine Weinmann, a Jewish collector. From around 1938, it was owned by Herbert Schaefer, who deposited it with the Yale University Gallery in 1981. The heirs of Josephine Weinmann claimed the return of the painting, as it was acquired unlawfully during the repression of the Jewish population. An agreement was reached with the rightful owners in 2001.

Painting Information:

oil on canvas, dimensions: 95 x 127.5 cm, Yale University Art Gallery, Yale.

Literature:

Karl Scheffler, Die Sammlung Max Silberberg, „Kunst und Künstler“, 30 (1931), s. 3-18.