Introduction The E. G. Buhrle Collection Museum is a renowned art museum located in Zurich, Switzerland. The museum was established by the Bührle family to make Emil Georg Bührle's collection of European sculptures and paintings available to the public. The museum is housed in a villa adjoining Bührle's former home.
The E. G. Buhrle Collection Museum in Switzerland
Introduction
The E. G. Buhrle Collection Museum is a renowned art museum located in Zurich, Switzerland. The museum was established by the Bührle family to make Emil Georg Bührle's collection of European sculptures and paintings available to the public. The museum is housed in a villa adjoining Bührle's former home.
Collections
The E. G. Buhrle Collection Museum comprises mainly French Impressionism and Post-Impressionism paintings by Paul Cézanne, Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Georges Seurat, Alfred Sisley, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Vincent van Gogh and others. The museum also includes a number of Old Masters and Modern art.
Connections to Nazi Germany
Emil Georg Bührle acquired his art collection with profits from the sale of weapons worth 623 million francs to Adolf Hitler's army. The arms business with the Nazis made him the richest man in Switzerland. Bührle bought his gothic sculptures in the shop of Benno Griebert, a member of Hitler's party NSDAP and ardent Nazi supporter.
Art Theft
On 10 February 2008, four paintings worth CHF 180 million ($162.5 million) were stolen from the museum. The four paintings were Cézanne's Boy in the Red Vest (1894/1895), Degas's Count Lepic and His Daughters (1871), Monet's Poppies near Vétheuil (1879) and Van Gogh's Blossoming Chestnut Branches (1890). All four paintings were eventually recovered.
The "Bührle Black Book" Controversy
In 2015, Thomas Buomberger and Guido Magnaguagno called for an investigation into Nazi era provenance gaps in a number of paintings in the Bührle collection. The Foundation had been working with provenance researcher Laurie A Stein since 2002 to update the ownership history of the collection and to publish it online.
Conclusion
The E. G. Buhrle Collection Museum is a must-visit destination for art enthusiasts and fans of French Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. The museum's collections, including works by Cézanne, Degas, Monet, Van Gogh, and others, are a testament to Emil Georg Bührle's passion for art. However, the museum's connections to Nazi Germany and the controversy surrounding the provenance of some of its paintings cannot be ignored.
Foundation E. G. Bührle Collection [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_E._G._B%C3%BChrle]
Emil Georg Bührle [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Georg_B%C3%BChrle]
List of museums in Switzerland [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_museums_in_Switzerland]
Painting by 'François Emile Barraud' : Portrait of a ManPainting by 'Egbert Van Der Poel' : Seashore by MoonlightSeashore by MoonlightPainting by 'Ernst Ludwig Kirchner' : The RiderThe RiderPainting by 'Ernst Ludwig Kirchner' : ReiterinReiterinPainting by 'Ernst Ludwig Kirchner' : Pair of Acrobats, SculpturePair of Acrobats, SculpturePainting by 'Ernst Ludwig Kirchner' : JunkerbodenJunkerboden