Provenance research has become an integral part of museum practice. In collections of modernist art, this primarily means investigating works that were stolen or extracted under duress from Jewish victims of National Socialism between 1933
and 1945.
The exhibition documents the current state of our ongoing research into the holdings of the Berlinische Galerie. Set amid a salon hanging with nearly 40 paintings rarely on display, digital media present the latest findings, gaps in our knowledge and objectives for further enquiry. Alongside this a story is told – that of the “Temple Dance of the Soul” painted in 1910 by Fidus (Hugo Höppener). The cycle was identified in 2017 as having been looted by the Nazis. Restitution was arranged before the work was repurchased for the Berlinische Galerie. It becomes clear: every work goes travelling, and our knowledge about the journey broadens our view of the art.