Approximately five million pieces of religious, cultural, and historic artwork and relics were retrieved and returned to their rightful owners by a group of men and women of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Department (The Monuments Men: Saving Europe's Art: Overview 1). Near the end of the war Dwight D. Eisenhower saw the destruction and told all remaining troops to avoid the destruction of all historic and cultural items, even in the heat of battle (The Monuments Men 2012-10-23 Youtube). Throughout the remaining years, soldiers worked to salvage and discover stolen pieces of art that were taken by the Nazis. Nazis hid stashes in churches, houses, and abandoned mines. Countless paintings from famous artists like Rafael, Rembrandt, and Van Dyke were found and returned to their museums. As well as art, Nazis also collected innumerable amounts of menorahs, Torahs, and other religious scriptures and items. To collect, salvage, and return all of these forms of art and items was the job that fell into the hands of the Monuments Men. Without the heroic hard work and actions of the Monument’s Men throughout WWII, much of the world’s priceless art would have been lost forever.
In 1937, Hitler started his campaign to purge German museums of art he found “degenerate” or “too modern”. This included pieces by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Marc Chagall. His campaign for cleansing ended up confiscating 16,000 pieces of art. “More than 4,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, watercolors, and graphics branded as “degenerate” were burned by the Nazis in March 1939” (The Monuments Men: Saving Europe's Art: Overview). Not only did the Nazis destroy artwork, but they also sold many pieces in auctions in Switzerland. As presumed, anything t...
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Brey, Ilaria Dagnini. "The Venus Fixers: The Untold Story of the Allied Soldiers Who Saved Italy's Art During World War II'" Lootedart. N.p., Apr. 2009. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. .
Edsel, Robert M. "The Art Army." The Monuments Men: Rescuing Art from the Nazis. Harvard Magazine, Jan.-Feb. 2010. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. .
"The Monuments Men 2012-10-23." YouTube. YouTube, 24 Oct. 2012. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
"The Monuments Men: Saving Europe's Art: Overview." World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2005. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. .
Willett, Megan. "Works of Art Saved By The 'Monuments Men' Of WWII." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 09 Mar. 2014.
Monuments and museums are arenas of public history and for the formation and articulation of identities and narratives.[1] Decisions taken as to the formation of museums and the selection, display and organisation of exhibits are influenced by criteria which are not necessarily politically neutral; these may especially involve devices of political elites to emphasise aspects of communal togetherness and thus exert control over communities.[2] Memory and commemoration of past events and generations is by its nature a political and contested act, especially in sharply divided societies.[3] It is no surprise that recently established governments and states should particularly concern themselves with the production of such forms of festivities, commemorations, and monuments.[4] As rulers of a sharply divided society, unionist elites in Northern Ireland in the aftermath of its eventful creation in 1920-1 had particular reasons to concern themselves, and did concern themselves, with such strategies of power.[5] The integration of the province's Catholic minority may have been, or may have been felt to be, beyond the rulers of Northern Ireland;[6] but this very fact heightened the importance of preserving the highest possible degree of political unity under unionist hegemony among the Protestant majority.[7]
Through out the duration of the war the looting and destroying of artworks continued. One might even say it was an obsession. Hitler at the time wanted to create a museum of the best art.
...r figure out what these paintings really stand for. In recent years they have been painted over and redone in certain areas, so something needs to be found before there are no paintings left.
History has a strange way of coming back around when it comes to human civilization. It has been said repeatedly that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. However, just because there is a potential for danger in the future, this does not mean that humanity must ignore what once was. History is normally remembered through what is known as a memorial. When a memorial is put into a physical representation, it is then known as a monument.The need to memorialize events or people is complex; in some cases, monuments honor moments of great achievement, while in other cases, monuments pay homage to deep sacrifice. A monument's size, location, and materials are all considerations in planning and creating a memorial to the past. Examples of such feats are the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and even Mount Rushmore. For the latter of the
The begging of World War II not only changed countries, economic structures and politics but also had an enormous influence on different sides of life of people and societies. Well-known from the historical experience is the fact that every single of such size as World War always has its resonance on arts, as culture is an inseparable part of people’s lives. Talking of WWII, the response within artistic communities was so strong that artists became a part of the ideological war of the time (Martin). The position of lots of creative people was at the same time very fearful, as they found themselves in occupied countries under the threat of totalitarian regimes and had to immigrate
Art for Art's Sake: Its Fallacy and Viciousness. The Art World, Vol.2. May 1917. 98-102
This summer, during the month of July, I went to visit France. I saw many things including designer stores, Notre Dame, and even the Eiffel Tower during its 120th anniversary. Though I had seen these amazing places, the only site that had made a remarkable impression on me was seeing the battlefield where so many soldiers all over the world had lost their lives in battle. I went to a few museums that had astonishing information on World War II, but nothing was like seeing the real beach where everything had happened almost exactly 65 years ago. If you looked out on the water you could see the remains of ships that have never been removed. There are still holes in the side of the hill that looks over the beach showing where trenches were and where the hill had been bombe...
“Duncan’s (1991) article provides an examination of western museums as a vehicle for the “modern state” to project imperialistic values over art objects of the Third World. The American/European art museum is a type of “temple” that is used to ritualize western art objects as a projection of modernity over the “primitive” art of Third World cultures.”
Inside the marble-plated building, paintings and an array of ancient works of art adorn the otherwise monotonous walls of this ancient Roman museum. Perfectly handcrafted stone sculptures decorate even the door frames, creating an awe-inspiring sight as visitors come from far and wide to see the history of this vast empire. In the eastern wing of the museum, A group of student photographers gather round the ancient statue of a man who made his mark on history by creating the most fearsome empire in human history, all while setting the course for its inevitable destruction. The statue is of Augustus Caesar, the founder and first emperor of the Roman Empire. A man who, with an incredible lust for power, became the world’s most formidable ruler during his reign…
"" Title="Art History Unstuffed" Art History Unstuffed." Art History Unstuffed RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.
Recently the major countries that were part of WWII are starting to try and push for museums to send back the stolen art to their rightful owners. With the millions of pieces that were stolen during WWII the number of pieces that have not been returned to its heirs is well over 100,000 pieces of art and most of them are currently missing.("Nazi Plunder," n.d.) To help return stolen art, museums search through all of their art to check if any of it was stolen during WWII. Currently though the progress has stopped for returning stolen artwork back to its rightful heirs, because the museums are refusing to give back some of the more major pieces of art. Also the lack of knowing who the art truly belongs to is also slowing down the
Barnett, Peter. “The French Revolution in Art”. ArtId, January 7th 2009. Web. 5th May 2013.
Winton, Alexandra G. "The Bauhaus, 1919–1933." The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Web. 03 May 2014.
The subject of art conservation and restoration has long been debated in the art world. Experts and historians have never agreed that all art must be salvaged at any cost. This paper will examine what art conservation and restoration is, what is involved in these endeavors, and what has been done over the centuries to many of history’s cherished art pieces.
I came across many monuments in my research for this paper. I was very intrigued by monuments in New York City. Many people forget about the less talked about monuments. Such as the Flatiron Building and Gracie Mansion. Of course they are those well-known monuments as well. There is the UN building, which has been around since 1949. Penn Station is also another well-known monument. It has been around since the early 1900’s. There are many others including Grand Central Station, the George Washington Bridge, the Cathedral of St. John and Yankee Stadium just to name a few.