Die Rothschild'schen Gemäldesammlungen in Wien

Abstract

Emerging from the Jewish ghetto in Frankfurt, the Rothschilds took over in the world of banking in less than 50 years. In 1820, Salomon Rothschild came to Vienna to open a branch of the family banking house. His son Anselm was to make his name in the capital city of the Austrian monarchy not only as a financier but also as an art-collector: he laid the foundation for the significant art collections of the Viennese Rothschilds, which were extended and improved continuously, right through until 1938.The aim of the dissertation (Ph.D.) which was handed in at the University of Vienna in 2001 was to establish the focal point of their extensive collections of paintings. Interest in works by the 17th century Dutch School and the 18th century French School was to weave its way like a leitmotif through the collections over all generations. After Anselm's death in 1874, his sons Albert and Nathaniel von Rothschild significantly expanded their father's art collection and gave the works a prestigious setting by building two Palais in the Fourth District of Vienna. These grand houses were taken on by Albert's sons, Louis and Alphonse, who further enhanced the collections but also extended the range by purchasing works by 19th-century Austrian painters. Whereas the Dutch School was highly appreciated by most titled collectors in Europe since 1630 and was as such present in major aristocratic collections in Vienna (Liechtenstein, Czernin, Schönborn, Harrach), the Rothschilds strongly influenced the market by buying artworks from the French and English Schools. As a result of the analysis the Rothschilds present themselves as true admirers of the fine arts who conferred on a regular basis with art historians and other art lovers and who introduced progressive ways of exhibiting their collections. Whilst competing with some of the finest Austrian collections the members of the family also set new standards in the art world.Another important focus is set on the fate of the collections after the incidents of 1938. The Rothschilds in Vienna lost their entire property including their art compilations to the German state, the latter were for the most part meant to be introduced into Hitler's Museum in Linz. Although the collections were entirely restored after the war an important part was claimed by the Austrian museums when the family proclaimed their wish to take permanent exile in the US.Due to the poor existence of documents concerning these artworks it was only through extensive research in the archives of the Austrian State, the State Archives of Russia in Moscow (where all private correspondence was to be found until 2002), the German State Archive in Koblenz, The Rothschild Archive in London and various other Archives throughout Austria and England that the content of these collections could be pointed out. As a result the author was capable to compile an inventory of the canvases in the ownership of the Austrian Rothschilds which names the owner, the provenance, and the whereabouts of the piece during the Second World War and its actual location. Since the collections were not open to the public, and because of the fact that the Rothschilds never commissioned a catalogue of their art belongings or kept records of their property (the reason being the wish to conceal the volume of their wealth) this register is a unique document which is of major importance not only for researchers on the Rothschild family but also for those investigating into looted Jewish property in general.