Works of Unknown Origin

About the Exhibition
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Works of Art Seized by
Nazi Organizations
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The ERR’s Exchange
Operations
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Post-War Restitutions
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Works Purchased on the
Paris Art Market
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Works of Unknown Origin
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Works Returned to
France by Germany in 1994
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Research into the history of MNR works often begins with an artist’s signature, writing on a label, or an inscription on the back of a painting. In many instances, however, no such clues exist, and we know nothing about the historical background of certain works.

The works presented here exemplify the difficulties in identifying artworks. These difficulties may stem from the existence of copies (such as Woman with a Turban (Sybil?), Rome, eighteenth century) and from the fact that the artist who produced them remains unidentified (as with Boy on a Horse, Florence, fifteenth century) or only partially identified (as with Church Interior, MNR 495). The oft-repeated iconography of paintings may at times present another obstacle in the efforts to determine a work’s origin, as is the case, for example, with paintings of flowers, landscapes, or portraits whose models are unknown.