The French senate has approved the return of 15 artworks looted from Jews during World War II, the last step in a process that started in the National Assembly in January. The move will open the door to further restitutions.
This is the first time in 70 years that the French government has made serious steps to return artworks "that were acquired in troubling circumstances during the occupation because of anti-Semitic persecution," said French Culture Minister Roselyne Bachelot.
The legislation authorises public museums to return works to the heirs of the original owners.
One of the 15 paintings in question is Rose bushes under trees by Gustav Klimt, the only painting by the Austrian master owned by the French state.
It was acquired by the Musee d’Orsay in 1980, though research revealed it had been forcibly sold by Austrian collector Eleonore Stiasny in Vienna in 1938, before she was deported and killed.
Among the other works of art, 12 are held by the Orsay, the Louvre and the museum of the Chateau de Compiègne, as well as a a painting by Maurice Utrillo held at the Utrillo-Valadon museum northwest of Paris.
An amendment to the legislation in January added a painting by Marc Chagall held at the Pompidou museum.
The Senate approved the bill after it was passed by the National Assembly in late January.
It now requires is the signature of President Emmanuel Macron to enter into force.
Bachelot said the legislation is the "first stage" in returning objects "still being conserved in public collections – objects that ought not, and should never have been there".
Tens of thousands of paintings were looted or forcibly acquired during the Nazi occupation of France, and have since been kept in custody by public museums such as the Musée d'Orsay and the Louvre
Out of an estimated 2,200 works of art held by the French state, some 170 have been returned to their owners since 1951.
In 2018, the government set up a special unit to try to track down the heirs of the owners, rather than waiting for them to come forward.
(with AFP)
