Adolph Menzel's "Oberregierungsrath Knerk" returns to the Kupferstichkabinett after more than seventy years
Press release from 03/11/2019
Portrait sketch was to be auctioned at Grisebach - After initial indications of its provenance from the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the auction house contacted the SPK - Collector decided to return it
The portrait of "Geheimer Oberregierungsrath Knerk" (ca. 1863/1865) is a study for the monumental painting "Coronation of Wilhelm I in Königsberg" (1865), which is on display in Potsdam's Neues Palais. A few days before the coronation on 18 October 1861, William I had commissioned Adolph Menzel to capture the ceremony in a painting. Between 1861 and 1865, Menzel produced 172 sketches and portrait studies for the coronation painting. The portraits were created in individual sittings with the dignitaries depicted in the painting. All the preliminary studies for the coronation painting were acquired directly from the artist in 1880 by the director of the Nationalgalerie, Max Jordan, for the "Collection of Drawings". Since reunification, they have been part of the Kupferstichkabinett's holdings. The Grisebach auction house, where the portrait of the "Geheimer Oberregierungsrath Knerk" was to be auctioned, found indications during its provenance check that the work originally belonged to the "Collection of Drawings" and subsequently contacted the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. After further research by the museums' central archive confirmed that the work had been lost by the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin during the war, the owner decided to return it to the museums.
Hermann Parzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, said on the occasion of the handover of the print: "It was with great pleasure that I received this wonderful sketch. I am very grateful to Christian Dräger for his kindness and his decision to withdraw the sheet from the auction and return it to the care of the museums."
The collector had acquired the work from an art dealer in 1986. How it got there is unclear. In 1928, the Nationalgalerie loaned it and 21 other Menzel drawings to the Ministry of Science, Education and National Education, where it adorned a conference room for several years. In April 1941, it was suggested that the loaned sketches be "salvaged for air protection". A proposal that was apparently rejected, as the drawings are not mentioned at all on the removal lists. What happened to them is uncertain. Since 1945, the sketch of Oberregierungsrath Knerk was considered a war loss, as were seven of Menzel's other sheets lent to the Ministry of Culture in 1928.
The portrait of "Geheimer Oberregierungsrath Knerk", together with around 100 other works by Menzel in watercolour, pastel and gouache from the museum's own collection, supplemented by selected loans, will be on display from the end of September to the beginning of January in the exhibition "Menzel. Painter on Paper" exhibition.
The museums, libraries and archives that today belong to the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation suffered great losses during the Second World War. Numerous works were destroyed, relocated or stolen; the fate of many remains unclear. The extent of the losses could not be fully recognised for a long time. It was only after reunification that the necessary documents became accessible. Since then, the National Museums in Berlin have published the series "Documentation of Losses". In many cases, it is still not clear whether the works were destroyed or ended up in the possession of other people or institutions.