In accordance with our strategy for provenance research, which prioritizes in-depth investigation of so-called “flight assets,” the Kunstmuseum Basel is conducting discussions regarding a just and fair solution in connection with the purchase of Henri Rousseau’s painting La muse inspirant le poète / Apollinaire et sa muse.

The Kunstmuseum Basel acquired the painting La muse inspirant le poète / Apollinaire et sa muse (1909) by Henri Rousseau in 1940 from Countess Charlotte von Wesdehlen. In 2021, the lawyers of a claimant in Charlotte von Wesdehlen's succession approached the Kunstmuseum Basel with a request to investigate the background of this purchase. Should clarification of the historical facts confirm that the painting was given up as a result of Nazi persecution, a "just and fair solution" in accordance with the Washington Principles would be sought.

Subsequently, the Kunstkommission of the Kunstmuseum Basel and the Museum actively pursued a substantive investigation. The Provenance Research Department established the state of the historical facts and a working group was set up to discuss the context and possible solutions. The results were presented to the claimant's lawyers at a meeting in June 2022. The claimant's representatives ultimately requested the restitution of the work.

The findings of this in-depth research, together with an extensive discussion on the treatment of "flight assets" (sale of property in unoccupied foreign countries by emigrants fleeing Germany between 1933 and 1945), do not, in the view of the Kunstkommission and the Kunstmuseum, support the right to restitution of the painting. Rather, negotiations for a "just and fair solution" have been advocated and have already begun.

Despite the issues that still remain unresolved, the Kunstmuseum would like to contribute to the debate over the handling of "flight assets" in Switzerland. As Felix Uhlmann, President of the Kunstkomission, explains “The Washington Principles also oblige us to seek ‘just and fair solutions’ in cases of ‘flight assets’ purchases, which entails the investigation of these cases and the transparent communication of the outcome to the public.” Accordingly, the decision reached by the Kunstmuseum and the Kunstkommission has been extensively substantiated and published.

Charlotte von Wesdehlen’s sale of the painting by Henri Rousseau is among the cases that, in Switzerland, are treated as sale of “flight assets.” The term “flight assets” was introduced in the Bergier Report and differs from looted art, which was stolen from Jewish owners by the Nazi regime. Charlotte von Wesdehlen’s story is specifically mentioned in this report.

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