Cornelius Gurlitt will be returned to the works of art confiscated from him earlier

BERLIN. German authorities said on Tuesday that some paintings would be ordered to be returned to Cornelius Gurlitt, who became world-famous after more than 1,400 world art masterpieces found in his apartment by the collector’s father in the Third Reich era.

The chief prosecutor of the Augsburg city, who is investigating this case (currently Gurlitt is charged only with tax evasion), admitted that some of the works of art, whose total value is about 1 billion euros, really belong to the 80-year-old to the hermit. “Determining which works were indeed legally acquired and which were stolen by the Nazis is key to the entire investigation. This is necessary to resolve all claims for the return of works of art to their rightful owners, ”said Reinhard Nemetz, prosecutor in his statement. “At the same time, determining the origin of the paintings also makes it possible to identify works that, no doubt, belong to the accused, and the return of which should be made immediately.”

Nemets said that he had ordered the creation of a working group to deal with this very issue. Gurlitt is the heir to an influential art dealer of the Nazi era, who was entrusted with the sale of works recognized by the Third Reich as "degenerate." In the period before and during the Second World War, the Nazis robbed works of art from museums in the occupied territories, extorted them from Jewish families, or seized them in exchange for hard currency (whether the price corresponded to market value, a separate issue). Hildebrandt Gurlitt carried out these works, and also selected and prepared some masterpieces for the "Fuhrer Museum" of Adolf Hitler in the Austrian city of Linz (Linz), which was never built.

A group of experts dealing with found paintings, sketches and prints, said that about 970 of the 1406 found were most likely looted from museums and Jewish families. At the moment, experts are trying to unravel the origin of the work of such masters as Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Renoir and Delacroix. This process will stretch for years, and most likely for decades, especially since the underground collector himself told the press that he would not refuse any of the works without a fight. “I don’t give anything voluntarily,” Cornelius Gurlitt told reporters this week.

Anna Sidorova © Gallerix.ru